Deadbeat state: Ill. owes billions in unpaid bills

Associated Press ^ | Oct. 15, 2011 | Deadbeat state: Ill. owes billions in unpaid bills

[YHAOS]

"Drowning in deficits, Illinois has turned to a deliberate policy of not paying billions of dollars in bills for months at a time"

Classic early stage behavior of Deadbeat pathology.

[KEVLAR]

I moved out last December.

Read recently the Illinois Toll Authority is set to double tolls - again, and that water rates are also to double soon.

[EVO X]

Our company is actually refusing to do business with the State of Illinois because many of their vendors have to wait up to ONE YEAR before getting paid.

If you don't need the money right away, they pay it back eventually with an outstanding interest rate.

[Lurker]

I’ve got a ringside seat about 40 miles west or so. When it happens I’m going to pour myself 3 fingers of bourbon, lit a cigar, and watch the rosy glow as the south and west sides of that cesspool go up in flames.

And I’m going to laugh and laugh and laugh....

[MasterGunner01]

All vendors to the state of Illinois should tell the people who pay the bills “cash only”. No credit. No cash, NO goods or services. If no one will do business with the state other than cash, it sends a message. Of course each vendor has to have a backbone of steel.

[cripplecreek]

I live about 70 miles west of Detroit and its a whole different world here.

[cherry]

what I don’t understand is that Chicago has a lot of immigrant heritage...good solid Poles and Germans etc....how did they become so apathetic to allow this kind of criminal enterprise to flourish?

[usconservative]

what I don’t understand is that Chicago has a lot of immigrant heritage...good solid Poles and Germans etc....

Not sure where you live, if you're in Chicago, the Suburbs or where .... but I've seen the suburban population of Poles, German's, Italians and Greeks EXPLODE due to their exiting the city. There is still a small portion of "German" and "Greek" pockets in the city that I used to be familiar with, but they're far smaller now than they were say 20 years ago. Same thing with Little Italy, most of it's just restaurants and funeral homes, the "old neighborhood" moved out but still maintain their businesses in the city.

[PapaBear3625]

I was reading at one point that federal grants, subsidies, etc prop up about half the budgets of some states and localities. I'm going to guess that Chicago and Illinois are included.

That's why Obama is so desperate about the "Jobs Bill". He needs to maintain the solvency of a number of Dem enclaves. If they cease to have federal money to keep them afloat, Chicago, Detroit, NYC, and other places would be unable to support so many worthless Dem voters.

Visualize a Chicago which was no longer able to afford Welfare or large numbers of public employees, where the only way you could live there would be if you worked a private-sector job.

[usconservative]

I was reading at one point that federal grants, subsidies, etc prop up about half the budgets of some states and localities. I'm going to guess that Chicago and Illinois are included.

You'd be guessing right. The unfunded mandates (debt) and debt that Illinois has, far exceeds that of any other state in the country, California included.

This state is a freaking joke. The unions all vote Democrat here (no surprise) when it's the Democrats that have raided all the teachers and government workers pension funds.

The last governor to fully fund Teachers and State workers pensions here was (surprise, surprise!) a Republican, former Governor Jim Edgar.

The dem's here couldn't wait to get him out of office, now I hope they're cying in their beer after the raping, pillaging and plundering that Blagojevich (former governor, now on his way to jail) and the current governor Pat Quinn have done.

[Christian Engineer Mass]

“Chicago literally sucking up all this state’s resources”

That’s what I’m saying. It’s become a city-state. Don’t assume others don’t know. We’ve seen some stuff too.