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Paying The Bills When The Money Is Not There

Leslie Munger
WVIK
Leslie Munger
Leslie Munger
Credit WVIK
Leslie Munger

Money keeps state government going.  From services to employee paychecks.  So, how does the State of Illinois function when it's piling up more bills than it can cover?   

The job of cutting checks for the state falls to Comptroller Leslie Munger.  

She says she is asked often if the state could run out of money....

"Every single day we run out of money," Munger said. "We pay as much as we can on that given day and then we have to wait for the next day. So when we make decisions about how to pay our bills, we are looking at today do we pay foster care or do we send the education payment?"

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Money comes in to the state daily, but it's going out just as fast. 

Some bills are pushed off longer than others.  For example, Munger says some health care providers are waiting on payments nearly a year overdue.

She announced this week Illinois is on track to spend $6 billion more than it takes in this fiscal year.

 

Copyright 2016 NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS