Illinois government has been deadlocked on a state budget for 23 months. During that time, the once-perfunctory job of comptroller has gained in power and prominence. On paper, Susana Mendoza is simply in charge of paying the state's bills. But because there’s not nearly enough money to meet Illinois’ obligations, Mendoza must decide who to pay in what order.
A court hearing scheduled for Tuesday has the potential to shake up Illinois' already-precarious financial situation. Organizations that run the state’s Medicaid program are asking a judge to speed up their payments.
A day after the Illinois General Assembly ended its spring session without passing a budget, two bond rating agencies have downgraded the state’s credit.
Attorneys for the Illinois state government say payments to schools, services for foster children and even state employees could be in jeopardy if the state is forced to speed up payments to Medicaid service providers, who have threatened to stop seeing low income patients.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza says she’s not sure when school districts will receive state money owed to them for the rest of this school year. The state of Illinois still owes local school districts nearly $1 billion to cover the current school year. But Mendoza, a Democrat, says she’s not sure when they’ll actually get the money.
