SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Pat Quinn's aides said they'll go forward with layoffs of thousands of state workers because union officials won't agree to unpaid days off and a pay freeze.

Quinn's staff met Thursday with top leaders of the state's largest employees union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Quinn asked the union to take 12 unpaid furlough days off work and forego pay increases in the union contract in order to avoid some layoffs.

At a Thursday meeting in Springfield, the union refused to reopen the terms of its contract.

"The Quinn Administration proposed employee concessions that would cut every state worker's pay by 11 to 15 percent over the next year and a half, and still result in 1,000 layoffs," AFSCME Executive Director Henry Bayer said in a statement. "We simply don't believe our members can afford that, and we don't think it's fair to expect them to bear such an unfair burden."

Hundreds of the layoffs are slated to come from prisons in Decatur, Lincoln, Vandalia, East Moline and Vienna. They're set to take effect at the end of the month.

"Unfortunately, AFSCME was not open to these proposals which would have saved thousands of state jobs and, instead, they made the choice to go forward with layoffs," Quinn's office said in a statement.

And they've filed a lawsuit in southern Illinois looking to block many of the layoffs. The suit's first hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

The layoffs are part of Quinn's $1 billion in cuts to the state budget. This spring, the governor proposed raising income taxes in order to stave off deep government cuts, but lawmakers didn't agree.

"While we are disappointed with today's outcome, we will continue to work to rescue our state from this fiscal emergency," Quinn's office said.

The union supports an increase in taxes, saying it's a more permanent budget fix than layoffs.

"We made clear that the governor should rescind the layoffs he has already scheduled, and instead work to raise adequate revenue to support the vital services AFSCME members provide," Bayer said.