State of Illinois Creating Economic Difficulties for Locals

The fiscal crisis that is that state of Illinois looms on the horizon again for local businesses, schools and governments that rely on timely payments from the state.

Representative John Bradley (D-Marion) is meeting with state officials today to discuss the rumors that the state will once again delay state aid payments to local school districts. Last fall, the state's failure to adopt a budget meant that state aid due in August did not arrive until October.

That meant many area school districts had to borrow money just to meet back to school expenses. The loans could be repaid when the money came in, but the school districts were out the interest and other expenses associated with a short-term loan.

Now, rumor has it that the state will avoid making the final two payments of the fiscal year until after the beginning of its new fiscal year in July. Not only does the delay hamper school's operating budgets, but it also causes accounting nightmares when they receive money for the 2007-2008 school year in the summer of 2008.

School superintendents across the region have voiced concerns recently that this may affect staffing levels for next year. Traditionally, if a school district intends to lay off teachers, teacher's aides or other non-administrative personnel, the district will issue a reduction-in-force notice in the late spring. Sometimes, those people are offered jobs at the district as money becomes available, but it also is intended as a courtesy to the workers to allow them to find other employment.

Many of the school districts say that they will be fine as long as they receive the state aid due them in a timely manner, but delays like the ones that happened last fall are devastating.

At the Marion Eye Center and other businesses which conduct services for the state of Illinois, the delay in state payments is nothing new, but that does not make it any easier to live with. Recently, the Illinois Comptroller was reporting as telling the governor that somehow, the state had to raise money to pay its bills. The state is lagging several months behind on payments to medical providers across the state.