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Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner rejects Democrats’ call to borrow billions for bill backlog

FILE - In this July 26, 2017 file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks during a news conference on the first day of a special session on education funding at the state Capitol, in Springfield, Ill. Rauner used his veto powers this week to rewrite a funding plan and remove hundreds of millions of dollars for Chicago Public Schools he said would be redistributed to other districts. (Justin Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP, File) FILE - In this July 26, 2017 file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks during a news conference on the first day of a special session on education funding at the state Capitol, in Springfield, Ill. Rauner used his veto powers this week to rewrite a funding plan and remove hundreds of millions of dollars for Chicago Public Schools he said would be redistributed to other districts. (Justin Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP, File)

By Associated Press August 7, 2017 1 min read

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Bruce Rauner has rebuffed borrowing billions of dollars to pay long-overdue state bills.

The Republican rejected calls Monday from Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Treasurer Michael Frerichs (FRAYR’-iks). They both urged Rauner to sell up to $6 billion in bonds to pay off a chunk of a $14.4 billion backlog of bills.

He told reporters in Chicago that “more borrowing on top of the spending behavior of the state government is not an optimal answer.”

The backlog grew during a two-year budget standoff between Rauner and Democrats who control the General Assembly. It ended in July when lawmakers approved a budget over Rauner’s vetoes.

The plan includes borrowing at an interest rate of less than half of the 12 percent in late-payment interest owed to vendors.