Skip to main content
Monday, November 9, 2026Nov 9
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Budget fight leaves Illinois stuck with overdue bills

In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 photo, Frankie Redditt, President/CEO of Ashley’s Quality Care, Inc., left, and Michael Robinson, CFO, are joined by other officers at the company headquarters with stacks of invoices to the state and payroll bills on the table in Chicago. As Illinois politicians continue to squabble over a budget that should have taken effect July 1, hundreds of state contractors have been left with little more than I.O.U.s, according to more than 500 pages of documents, since Nov. 1, released to The Associated Press under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The state owes $2 million to Ashley’s Quality Care in Chicago, according to Robinson. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 photo, Frankie Redditt, President/CEO of Ashley’s Quality Care, Inc., left, and Michael Robinson, CFO, are joined by other officers at the company headquarters with stacks of invoices to the state and payroll bills on the table in Chicago. As Illinois politicians continue to squabble over a budget that should have taken effect July 1, hundreds of state contractors have been left with little more than I.O.U.s, according to more than 500 pages of documents, since Nov. 1, released to The Associated Press under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The state owes $2 million to Ashley’s Quality Care in Chicago, according to Robinson. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 photo, Frankie Redditt, President/CEO of Ashley’s Quality Care, Inc., left, and Michael Robinson, CFO, are joined by other officers at the company headquarters with stacks of invoices to the state and payroll bills on the table in Chicago. As Illinois politicians continue to squabble over a budget that should have taken effect July 1, hundreds of state contractors have been left with little more than I.O.U.s, according to more than 500 pages of documents, since Nov. 1, released to The Associated Press under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The state owes $2 million to Ashley’s Quality Care in Chicago, according to Robinson. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

By Associated Press 1 min read

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – As Illinois enters its eighth month without a state budget due to an impasse between its Republican governor and Democratic-led Legislature, a trove of email and documents shows the strain it’s having on state agencies and the places they do business.

In the capital Springfield, alone, the state has been cut off by stores selling cleaning supplies, hardware, carpeting and electrical supplies, among other things.

The documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show debts ranging from a $28 water-and-sewer bill at the historic 19th Century Mt. Pulaski Courthouse to $4.8 million that Illinois owes Michigan for a health care partnership. Many businesses have gone months without payment.

Catherine Kelly, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bruce Rauner, says Rauner is frustrated but hopes to work with Democrats on a solution.