As Illinois works down its bill backlog, how good is the 'good news'?
One aspect of the state's wobbly finances is in better shape. But the big picture is much iffier.
Sharon Mollerus/Flickr
It’s “good news, absolutely” as Taxpayers Federation of Illinois President Carol Portman puts it. “But it’s not ‘out of the woods’ good news.”
Portman’s reference is to an overlooked but eye-catching report issued yesterday by Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza indicating that the state’s backlog of unpaid short-term bills has dropped to around $3.5 billion, a bare fraction of the near $17 billion it hit under former Gov. Bruce Rauner and the lowest it’s been since at least the Blagojevich administration.