Tagged: backlog of bills

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said the state should pay down bills with the money it gets from selling a prison to the federal government.

Construction of the Thomson Correction Center was completed more than a decade ago, but the state has never had the money to fully operate it so the federal government is buying it in order to relieve overcrowding at its maximum-security facilities.

It's been appraised at $220 million, but Illinois agreed to sell it for $165 million.

Quinn said some of that money will be used to pay off debts related to the construction of Thomson.

Illinois legislators face more bad budget news. 

A report from Chicago's Civic Federation said the massive backlog of unpaid bills is about to get much worse.

Illinois is expected to owe more than $9 billion by this summer. The figure is expected to continue rising and could hit nearly $35 billion within five years.

Civic Federation president Laurence Msall said the state must  act quickly.