Illinois’ unpaid vendor debt dipped to $8,233,952,365.72 during the week ending March 21, a drop of nearly $500 million from the previous week, the state comptroller's office said.
The new numbers are as low as the debt load has gotten recently and continued a pattern of declining debt ever since Gov. Bruce Rauner announced plans at the start of the year to issue $6 billion of general obligation bonds, with all the funds earmarked for the state’s massive debt load.
Rauner figures to be even more emboldened and motivated to trim the state’s unpaid debt load with his recent win over Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) in the Republic primary. The only thing now standing in his way of a second term is the November general election battle where he will square off against Democratic nominee J.B. Pritzker.
Rauner recently kicked off talks for the next fiscal year budget by calling for an end to what he called “wasteful spending.”
Illinois’ debt load regularly hit record highs during a two-year period where the state operated with no balanced budget in place, resulting in the state’s debt load more than tripling to approximately $16 billion.
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