Illinois keeps falling farther behind on its debt.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, officially, the state has a backlog of more than $4.25 billion in unpaid bills.
(Story continues below...)
We are in a dire situation in this country today, and small publications like this one do not have the huge resources of George Soros pouring in like our liberal friends.
Worth Reading is not funded by the government like NPR.
Worth Reading is not funded by the government like PBS.
Please become a supporting member and help fund this ongoing effort to provide you with news and commentary relevant to our divided nation.
Help us get back our simple conservative values. Remember, the Bigger the Government - the Smaller the citizen!
But Illinois State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka says when one factors in other bills, the figure is closer to around $8.5 billion.
Those other outstanding bills include tax refunds, employee health insurance, and bills that have not yet reached her desk.
Topinka says this is extremely disappointing, since a year ago, the state sharply increased income taxes (by 67 percent) and corporate taxes.
“After the largest tax hike in our history, the state continues to be in this precarious fiscal position with persistent payment delays, and frankly, the situation is unlikely to significantly improve in the near term,” she said.
Some state officials say the solution is more borrowing to pay the bills, but Topinka says the solution is to cut spending.
