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Illinois ends 2016 with an $11 billion in unpaid bills
Illinois Policy ^ | December 26, 2016 | Brendan Bakala

Posted on 01/01/2017 11:14:06 AM PST by george76

Illinois state government has left the people of the Prairie State quite the stocking stuffer this holiday season: an $11 billion bill backlog that is expected to hit $14 billion by summer 2017. However, with money from a June stopgap funding agreement set to run out by the new year, nonprofit service providers and students receiving state grants may view it more as a lump of coal.

Funding for service providers hasn’t been a priority for the General Assembly for quite some time. Service providers wait, on average, nearly a year to be paid. Illinois politicians have been delaying payment to service providers since 2002, valuing increases in government-worker salaries and pensions more than compensating those who aid the most vulnerable Illinoisans. Spending on state-employee pension benefits increased 586 percent from 2000 to 2015, yet funding for human services only increased by10 percent during that time.

...

The state’s total pension debt has swelled to $130 billion, up 17 percent since 2015.

...

Illinois’ tax revenues have increased 70% more than inflation over last 3 decades

A lack of revenue is not driving Illinois’ pension problem.

(Excerpt) Read more at illinoispolicy.org ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: debt; illinois; pension; pensiondebt; unpaidbills
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To: Graybeard58

Probably just means succeed and form another state vs. leaving the country.


21 posted on 01/01/2017 12:38:03 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: sphinx

Yep, Illinois should EVICT Cook County & Chicago and make them take their debt with them.


22 posted on 01/01/2017 12:39:26 PM PST by House Atreides (Send BOTH Hillary & Bill to prison.)
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To: george76

At one time that was the size of our total national debt.


23 posted on 01/01/2017 12:46:45 PM PST by Don Corleone (.)
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To: SaveFerris

Chicago Tribune Reports on Illinois Lottery Corruption
https://illinoisfamily.org/gambling/chicago-tribune-illinois-lottery-jackpots-suppressed/


24 posted on 01/01/2017 12:55:32 PM PST by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33:12)
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To: stars & stripes forever

There it is. Thanks.

A whole lot of people belong in federal prison over that one.


25 posted on 01/01/2017 1:09:06 PM PST by SaveFerris (Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for ... some have unwittingly entertained angels)
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To: george76

Outlaw teacher unions, then fire every single one of them. The best of them can be rehired sans the union and the outrageous contracts.


26 posted on 01/01/2017 1:25:33 PM PST by Beagle8U (Long live Yoga Pants!)
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To: george76

Obama’s legacy.


27 posted on 01/01/2017 1:48:15 PM PST by Gator113 (I use liberal tears in my milkshake ~DRAIN THE SWAMP~ ~ LOCK HER UP ~ ~DRAIN THE SWAMP~)
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To: bigbob
If Your State is a Mess.
28 posted on 01/01/2017 2:52:56 PM PST by Jacquerie (ArticleVBlog.com)
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To: Dilbert San Diego
Here's the Chicago problem, Mexican drug cartels. The shooting are drug related over buying drugs, territories or just anger over a drug buy. Chicago has the third largest Mexican population in the US. Why? Drugs. The cartel moves drugs through El Paso to St. Louis then Chicago. There the drugs are distributed throughout the SU. Chicago has two airport, north, south, east and west interstates and railroad lines. One hundreds ago Chicago moved cattle, now they move mules
29 posted on 01/01/2017 3:44:29 PM PST by Kozy (new age haruspex)
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To: george76

Lets hear the Progressive war cry: Raise taxes on the rich and when we run out of them raise taxes on businesses and when we run out of them raise taxes on the middle class. Sooooommmeeeebbbboooodddies got to pay!!!!!


30 posted on 01/01/2017 3:45:43 PM PST by RetiredTexasVet (Dan Rather, a 60 Minutes Investigative Reporter for CBS, invented "Fake News"-fake but accurate.)
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To: george76

Trump is NOT going to bail out corrupt Democrats. Anyone with money needs to leave that State.


31 posted on 01/01/2017 3:45:45 PM PST by GOPJ (ObamaCare Motto: "If You Like Your Doctor, Maybe You'll Like Your New Doctor" - Dave Barry)
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To: Graybeard58

Like it or not Chicago is the economic powerhouse for the whole state. Removing it would cause more problems than it solves.


32 posted on 01/01/2017 3:51:01 PM PST by arrogantsob (Check out "CHAOS AND MAYHEM" at Amazon.com.)
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To: tennmountainman

Illinois is bankrupt


33 posted on 01/01/2017 3:54:42 PM PST by Thibodeaux (the end of Obama plague is near........ rejoice)
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To: doug from upland

war is the solution for bankrupt kings

Iowa has corn, lots of corn


34 posted on 01/01/2017 3:56:54 PM PST by Thibodeaux (the end of Obama plague is near........ rejoice)
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To: Beagle8U

The bigger salaries are paid by suburban school districts not Chicago. Nor are the pensions from Chicago teachers particularly outrageous.

One of our major problems is the Double and Triple dippers in the pension funds. Work job 1- retire-collect pension, get job 2, work - retire - collect pension #2, repeat.


35 posted on 01/01/2017 3:57:34 PM PST by arrogantsob (Check out "CHAOS AND MAYHEM" at Amazon.com.)
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To: Cowboy Bob

It is interesting though, the thought of a fed govt. that is $21,000,000,000,000 in debt bailing out a govt. that is $11,000,000,000 in the hole.


36 posted on 01/01/2017 4:21:53 PM PST by cornfedcowboy
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To: cornfedcowboy

plus another 130 billion in pension debt but yes its humorous.


37 posted on 01/02/2017 1:01:04 PM PST by rb22982
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To: SaveFerris

they stopped for awhile but started back up ... couldn’t figure out why ticket sales were down


38 posted on 01/02/2017 1:04:49 PM PST by TheRightGuy (I want MY BAILOUT ... a billion or two should do!)
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To: rb22982

I guess it is only some zeros. Reminds me of the financial crisis during the Lehman failure. The Dept. of Treasury was literally bailing out banks by telling them to add one more zero to their books. This was via phone mind you. True story.


39 posted on 01/02/2017 1:25:04 PM PST by cornfedcowboy
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To: Kozy

That (the drugs) ARE a big part of Chicago’s crime problems, true. But there are equally bad economic problems that would still exist even if the drugs disappeared tomorrow. IL is NOT a business friendly state, and the current Gov. (Rauner) is having a “h” of a time trying to get reforms enacted. Then there is the pervasive corruption, which is NOT limited to Chicago, tho’ the numbers there tend to be bigger...


40 posted on 01/02/2017 3:57:27 PM PST by Paul R.
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