Local Reaction to Goverment "Back in Business"

(Milwaukee)--There's plenty of reaction to go around concerning the government fully operating again after a two and a half week shutdown.

Most we spoke with say they are relieved, including U.S. Attorney James Santelle of The Eastern District of Wisconsin. He had to put 23 workers on leave. Now they're back on the job.

And it's not only his agency feeling a sigh of relief. The Milwaukee Health Department is once again able to use federal research (and dollars) to better track contagious diseases locally like hepatitis and even the flu.

And even though there's a lot of relief, there is still worry about what will happen with the upcoming debt talks in Washington at the end of the year.

Meantime, it's hard to estimate exactly how many federal workers we have in the Milwaukee, but it's safe to say it's in the tens of thousands. And all of them will get paid for the furlough. Back pay will start showing up in their October 25th paycheck.