Deadbeat State: Illinois Owes Billions in Unpaid Bills

[The Northerner]

Drowning in deficits, Illinois has turned to a deliberate policy of not paying billions of dollars in bills for months at a time, creating a cycle of hardship and sacrifice for residents and businesses helping the state carry out some of the most important government tasks.

Once intended as a stop-gap, the months-long delay in paying bills has now become a regular part of the state's budget management, forcing businesses and charity groups to borrow money, cut jobs and services and take on personal debt. Getting paid can be such a confusing process that it requires begging the state for money and sometimes has more to do with knowing the right people than being next in line.

As of early last month, the state owed on 166,000 unpaid bills worth a breathtaking $5 billion, with nearly half of that amount more than a month overdue and hundreds of bills dating back to 2010, according to an Associated Press analysis of state documents.

The true backlog is even higher because some bills have not yet been approved for payment and officially added to the tally. This includes the Illinois health care agency, which says it is sitting on about $1.9 billion in bills from Medicaid providers because there's no money to pay it.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/deadbeat-state-ill-owes-billions-unpaid-bills-14744210

[Odin2005]

1. RAISE TAXES, YOU MORANS!

[jaxx]

3. We did.....66%

Illinois Wakes Up
Published: January 16, 2011

For years, Illinois, like so many states, pretended that it had not fallen off a budgetary cliff. It was spending too much and taking in too little revenue, but every year it would kick its problems into the next. Unable to pay its bills, it finally accepted reality last week and raised taxes on incomes and businesses — a first step toward getting its house in order.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/opinion/17mon1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

[Donnachaidh]

2. so if they are not paying the bills -- WHERE is the money going?

They have to have some income coming in - where the frig is it? Who's pocket?

Makes you wonder also -- isn't this the state all the supposed *wunderkind* Chicago economists come from? So the state that puts the economists that are running our country -- uhh, something is totally WRONG with this picture...

Are we going to have to face piles of unpaid bills tucked into a closet in the white house?

[jaxx]

4. Pensions

The amount is huge.

[bengalherder]

6. Having grown up there

I'd say that millions (at least) a year disappear into the pockets of various relatives and friends of the politicians, who by dressing up as contractors and such garner lucrative state contracts in order to funnel the money back to it's putative owners.

I'm sure both mega-corps and general underworld sliminess have a hand in it too.

[Pirate Smile]

5. It is interesting to watch what you choose to post.