A standoff in Illinois between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and Democratic Speaker of the House Michael Madigan over spending and term limits has left Illinois without a budget for two years, the Wall Street Journal reported today. State workers and some others are still getting paid because of court orders and other stopgap measures, but bills for many others are piling up. The unpaid backlog is now $14.6 billion and growing. Illinois is even late paying its utility bills to Springfield, its own capital city. On July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year, billions of dollars in road projects are scheduled to grind to a halt. “Right now, our state is in real crisis,” said Gov. Rauner last week, on the eve of a special legislative session where lawmakers are trying to hammer out an agreement before the state enters its third budgetless year. Susana Mendoza, the state’s Democratic comptroller, predicted unpaid bills will soon top $16 billion. Any solution to the state’s dismal finances will need a three-fifths legislative majority to pass. Looming behind the fiscal train wreck are an estimated $250 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, the worst in the nation, according to Moody’s Investors Service. S&P Global Ratings has warned that it could lower the state’s rating to junk as early as this week if it doesn’t pass a budget.
