NEWS FLASH

Springfield, Illinois Denies Health Insurance To Civil Union Partners | The city of Springfield, Illinois has decided that the same-sex partners of its employees are not worth the cost to provide them health insurance. In a unanimous decision, the Joint Labor/Management Health Care Committee voted to deny partner benefits to employees in civil unions because the additional cost, a purported $725,000, is just too expensive. The city claims that because it is self-insured, the state law granting rights to couples in civil unions does not require it to provide the coverage. (HT: Reader Jason Pierceson.)