Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza says the state’s paying most of its bills within 30 days now. And she says its overdue bill backlog is down to $3.5 billion from the $16.7 billion it was four years ago. While that still sounds like a lot of money, St. Rep. David Welter says it’s far better than it was. He says it’s bad for businesses that have to wait to get their money and for the state to pay late fees and interest.
But Welter is worried that without spending reforms the state will end up with a bigger bill backlog again. A lot of the money for bills paid during the last few years came from a loan from the Federal Reserve.