CHICAGO — The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a possible appeal of an Illinois Supreme Court decision in May that rejected a state pension reform law.

The action came yesterday when the court granted a request from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to extend from Aug. 6 until Sept. 10 the deadline for asking the court to take up the matter, a legal step known as filing a writ of certiorari.

The request for more time was granted by Justice Elena Kagan, who reviews such requests from Illinois and other states in the federal 7th Circuit. Kagan did not indicate why she approved the application.

Madigan’s office has insisted that its request for more time is routine and had almost no comment yesterday evening. AMadigan spokesman wouldn’t even say whether the office was pleased that its request was approved or whether the high court action makes an eventual appeal more likely.