The numbers are bad, and quickly getting worse.
That was the message today from Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger, as she urged state leaders again to work out a budget and fix the state's finances.
During a news conference in Moline, Munger said the state's unpaid bills now total 6 billion dollars and could reach 8.5 billion by the end of the year.
“We receive 5,000 calls a week, asking when will they get paid,” Munger said.
Thanks to various court orders and continuing appropriations, Illinois is paying 90 percent of its bills under last year's budget. Munger says that sounds good at first, but it isn't.
“State revenue projected to drop 18% just in first half of the year,” Munger said.
The ten per cent not being paid includes higher education, student MAP grants, and retiree health insurance. Munger says the situation is unsustainable and will only get worse each day without a state budget, and that "governing this way does is not really serving anyone well."
