Thank You, Goddess!
After several hours of agita, I decided to try and relax by visiting my favorite forum, saw Patty's response to my earlier wail and thought, "Hm!" So, I checked the state website and found a copy of Governor Ritter's press release. It reads in part:
Therefore, Gov. Ritter today took the following steps as part of a budget contingency plan:
Implementing a hiring freeze for the Executive Branch effective Oct. 1. Departments will be allowed to finalize the hiring process only if a candidate has been offered and accepted a position by Monday, Sept. 29.
Yay! I'm still employed! I think I aged ten years the past few hours.
Normal programming will now resume. Sorry for the distraction.
Relieved Kix