Along with the state’s first full budget in three years, Illinois lawmakers this month approved plans to pay down the enormous bill backlog that was a byproduct of the financial stalemate.

 

But the person who will ultimately write the checks to pay down that backlog is warning that the end of the stalemate – and the higher taxes that were approved as part of that deal – aren’t a quick fix for eliminating the stack of bills that total nearly $14.5 billion.

 

“I need to do a good job of tempering people’s expectations,” said Comptroller Susana Mendoza. “It’s not like we won the Lotto. There’s still not enough money to cover the bill backlog, and we’re going to have to continue to have people, unfortunately, waiting longer than they would like to be made whole.”

 

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