CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) -- Wednesday marked the first day of a federal government shutdown, following a failed U.S. Senate vote to fund the government for the next seven weeks.

Brian Gaines, Honorable W. Russell Arrington Professor in State Politics at the University of Illinois, said the shutdown stemmed from both parties’ stubbornness.

“At the moment I think both parties are willing to take a chance and see who takes the blame,” Gaines said.

Gaines said the first people impacted are federal workers. Although no agency plans include layoffs so far, hundreds of thousands of government workers will work without pay until the Senate can reach an agreement.

Some places in Central Illinois are already feeling the effects.

The Champaign County USDA Field Office and Springfield’s Lincoln Ho

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