SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It appears Illinois is no longer a “deadbeat” when it comes to paying its bills. The state comptroller said Illinois has caught up on its huge backlog, but that does not mean the state is out of financial trouble.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said that when she took office in December 2016, the state had a backlog of unpaid bills totaling more than $16.5 billion, and some vendors were going unpaid up to a year late. Now, she said, the state is paying its bills on time. The state has only $3.5 billion in bills, and those are just from this week, Mendoza said.
According to Mendoza, the current bills are for money owed to "other branches of government, group health insurance bills with limited appropriation authority, and invoices at state agencies that have not yet been forwarded to the Office of Comptroller for payment."
Mendoza characterized that as a “remarkable” achievement.
“This is a remarkable day that I have been working toward since I took office in December 2016 amid the budget impasse when the previous administration was paying nursing homes and hospice centers up to a year late and they let the backlog climb to $16.7 billion,” Mendoza said in a statement. “Today’s achievement is the result of diligent daily management of the state’s cash flow by my office, supported by state agencies that now provide monthly updates on the number of bills and late payment interest penalties they are holding at their offices.”
But, Mendoza warned the state has not yet overcome its financial problems. She said the backlog does not take into account more than $3.5 billion in loans to pay state medical bills during the pandemic. The funds Illinois receives through the American Rescue Plan must first be used to pay off that borrowing, she said in a statement.
“I’ll say it as often as I need to: Illinois must craft a balanced state budget for fiscal year 2022 without depending on the one-time federal relief money the state received,” she said. “Responsible budget-making directs the fate of the backlog as we continue making headway with our finances and show taxpayers and the credit rating agencies that we’re serious about restoring Illinois’ financial stability.”
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