180,000: Number of unpaid [state] bills in Illinois as of Wednesday.
$14.5 billion: Dollar damage of those unpaid bills. The backlog has tripled since 2015 and, at this pace, will reach $28 billion by 2021. At that time, it will consume 80 percent of the state’s budget.
7 months: Average wait for a bill to be paid by the state. Illinois is now paying bills for October 2016.
9 to 12 percent: The high interest rate Illinois must pay, by law, on overdue bills.
$800 million: Interest due on the state’s unpaid bills.
6: Number of credit rating downgrades Illinois has incurred since the budgeting impasse began. Illinois now has the worst credit rating of any state in the country. Illinois is in danger of plunging into junk bond status. [It’s now 8.]
$952 million: Money Illinois has promised but failed to pay to human service agencies over the last two years, short-changing care for the disabled, the poor and the elderly.
69: Percentage of social service agencies that have received no or only partial payment from the state in fiscal year 2017. This compares to 35 percent last fiscal year.
46: Percentage of agencies that have cut back on the number of clients they serve.
25: Percentage of agencies that have eliminated entire programs, such as for training for the unemployed and assistance to the elderly.
19: Percentage of agencies that have laid off staff because of delays and cuts in state funding.
57,000 cops: Their police training classes, across the state, were canceled.
$4. 6 billion: Amount the state is behind in paying health insurance claims for employees and retirees. Doctors and dentists, who say the delayed payments threaten to put them out of business, are demanding that patients pay upfront.
80 percent: Reduced funding, based on 2015 levels, that public universities have received under the last stop-gap state budget.
6: In April, S&P Global Ratings downgraded the creditworthiness of six state universities — The University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Northeastern Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, Western Illinois University and Governor’s State University.
180 employees: Number Northeastern University announced it will lay off this summer because of a $10.8 million shortfall in state funding.
40 percent: Proportion of employees laid off at Chicago State University in 2016, to a significant degree because of reduced and inconsistent state funding.
16,461 students: They all left Illinois to go to college someplace else in 2015, while only 2,117 out-of-state students came to Illinois. University administrators say the exodus continues and can be blamed in part on university funding uncertainties, and the accompanying hit to the reputation of the state’s universities.
1,000 students: They failed to return to college for a second semester last year because grant funding for low-income students was frozen. Another 124,000 students stiffed by the state on their Monetary Assistance Program grants managed to remain in school only because the university or college fronted them the money, hoping the state would be good for it eventually.
4.7 percent: That’s the unemployment rate in Illinois, higher than in all its Midwestern neighbors except Kentucky. Business leaders have stressed to the Sun-Times Editorial Board repeatedly that while they’d love to see lower taxes and a loosening of regulations, what they require above all is governmental and taxation stability and predictability.
6: Number of Illinois small business development centers that closed for lack of funding in the last two years. Seven remain.
$850 million: This is what Illinois owes public schools across the state for “categorical” programs such as special education, transportation, bilingual services and early childhood education. The state did not make its September 2016 quarterly payment until April of this year. When will the December and March payments be made? Nobody knows.
$454.8 million: That’s what the state owes Chicago area’s Regional Transportation Authority, forcing the RTA to borrow to keep trains and buses running. The cost of this short-term borrowing is $950,919. Remember that when fares go up.
37,508 people: They all moved out of Illinois in 2016, the most residents lost by any state. It was Illinois’ third straight year of population decline. Leading the decline — for the third year in a row — was the City of Chicago, which lost 8,638 residents from 2015 to 2016. Of the 10 largest cities in the country, Chicago was the only one to see a drop in population.
- Signal and Noise - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:25 am:
“On the things we can control, I give myself and A”
- wordslinger - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:26 am:
Dems should have done this more than a year ago.
- Hit Em With the Hein - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:29 am:
Thanks and we all know it’s only the speakers fault. No blame here for the guv. Here’s Bruce Rauner’s favorite new song (adapted from the academy award nominated Blame Canada):
Should we blame the governor?
Or blame society?
Or should we blame the images on TV?
No! Blame Madigan, blame Madigan
With his beady little eyes
And flappin’ head so full of lies
Blame Madigan, blame Madigan
We need to form a full assault
It’s Madigan’s fault!
Google the original, it’s far dirtier. But same concept. Let’s never take responsibility when it’s so much easier to make money and get reelected when nothing gets done. The real question is when there is no budget in 2 years and Bruce get reelected, what then?!
- Henry Francis - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:30 am:
The Guv said today on the radio that Illinois is on a “good path”
- Mr. K. - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:37 am:
Yeah, but Rauner’s spirits are “up” and Illinois, he says, is on a “good path.”
So, apparently, things are going well for Rauner.
- AnonymousOne - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:42 am:
Such a proud list of accomplishments for this governor to be remembered by.
- Sideline Watcher - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:42 am:
“Dems should have done this a year ago.”
No. All of our vaunted media outlets who don’t cover Springfield should have been doing this all along. They were content to let the Governor get away with this sham of saying completely contradictory things since the man walked in the building. And throughout the entire time, they didn’t make him quantify how his political mandates would actually balance a budget. They gleefully played right into the lazy meme of why won’t they just give him what he wants ridiculousness. This man doesn’t have to suffer the consequences of any of the decisions he’s making. And he gets away with blaming everybody else for what he is WILLFULLY DOING.
But Madigan.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:42 am:
Turn the state into junk, then buy it up, wait for the real Turnaround he has in mind and own a state
- illini - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:44 am:
This helps to put everything in the proper perspective.
Yet the goal posts keep being moved and BVR has his $70 million sledgehammer to make certain that he keeps his caucuses in line for fear of what may happen if they should show any independence.
Yesterday, many papers had a generic and non specific AP story about the damage of going this long without a budget - I’d like to see if any media pick up on these details.
So who is responsible for this deliberate destruction? And what will this list look like in another year?
- Sir Reel - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:46 am:
A property tax freeze and term limits should clear all this up in a few months.s/
- AC - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:50 am:
Unlike the theoretical benefits of term limits, workers compensation changes and a local property tax freeze, the impact of not having a budget is known, tangible and detrimental to the state. This isn’t “short term pain” for “long term gain” it’s “long term pain” for a “theoretical gain” that is likely to be smaller than the pain inflicted. If a Democratic governor was holding out on a budget until the legislature agreed to a statewide single payer health insurance plan, and a financial transactions tax, I wouldn’t support it either.
- wordslinger - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:51 am:
SW, the Dems have people on staff who could have come up this info in hours and fed it to the media. It would have been in their interest to do so.
In case you haven’t noticed, not so many real media faces around the Dome anymore. Bit of a contraction going on there for some time now. Fewer reporters, less deep dive stories.
- Primary Them ALL! - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 11:51 am:
I’m so sick of this. We need a revolt at the polls. People without Rauner or Madigan allegiances need to start running. They’ve destroyed our state, Planet of the Apes style.
- sharkette - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 12:01 pm:
7 months: Average wait for a bill to be paid by the state. Illinois is now paying bills for October 2016.
FALSE:
Comptoller has my invoices dated back to DECEMBER of 2015
9 to 12 percent: The high interest rate Illinois must pay, by law, on overdue bills.
Not true, & impossible to calculate accuratley.
This goes by the States date, not the vendors date, normally 3-6 month lag time, which is not 12% a year. SO don’t believe everything out of MJM;s mouth. They are partial statements missing numerous facts.
In addition when the vendor goes to sell that invoice for a partial payment, add another 4-5 months.
I have been trying to dump oct - dec since JAN it’s June
Reality is 2-3% annual. AND a total loss to the vendor Because the vendor is not paid in full until the State pays the 3rd part in full.
Which has not happened either. And of course the cost of aging
$800 million: Interest due on the state’s unpaid bills. The data is not complete to guess this number.
- Southern Dawg - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 12:07 pm:
A long list of numbers…could we just call it failure?…just because one man wants term limits.
- sharkette - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 12:09 pm:
Add about 4000 vendors not getting paid.. many of which reside here,, talk about anti business climate..growth?
- sharkette - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 12:14 pm:
I’d like to see a report exactly where the legislators all went and know just exactly what they are doing since they could not be bothered for years to get this done. it’s unbelievable.
maybe they all just went on vacation after they did such a great job ?
- Anonymous - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 12:17 pm:
Boy oh boy, you know what? If this list gets any longer and the numbers get any worse, it won’t be long and this state is going to be in big trouble.
- So tired of political hacks - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 12:24 pm:
I thought Rauner was elected for change, all I continue to hear is I can’t because Madigan won’t let me. All I see is amount to a bitter divorce, if I don’t get what I want let it burn.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 12:37 pm:
Bruce Rauner says he loves his job, says he’s never been happier.
- Mama - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 1:41 pm:
Rich, thanks for posting the “Price and Pain of no Budget”.
- Ma - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 1:44 pm:
According to our governor, nothing is his fault.
- Underdog - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 2:02 pm:
I don’t understand why these elected knuckleheads aren’t raging. The Federal Government should take over the State of Illinois and fix the mess. Trump at the Statehouse firing the lot of em sounds good about now.
- A guy - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 3:28 pm:
===The Federal Government should take over the State of Illinois..===
U dog, you lost me right there.
- Bear3 - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 3:52 pm:
Unfortunate that the Gov. is not one term. He will not accept compromise, is naïve and incompetent in politics as is the current President. A waste. It is about him and not about the people of this great state.
- wordslinger - Friday, Jun 2, 17 @ 3:58 pm:
–He will not accept compromise, is naïve and incompetent in politics as is the current President.–
He knows what he’s doing. Squeeze the beast is the plan in action.