State agencies were holding nearly $2.5 billion in bills at the end of last year, pushing the state’s bill backlog to more than $9.2 billion.

 

The numbers are part of the first report issued by Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office under a new state law that requires state agencies to report on bills they are holding that have not been submitted for payment.

 

Mendoza pushed for the law last year to give her a better picture of the state’s bill backlog, particularly as she tried to prioritize bills the state didn’t have enough cash to pay on time. Mendoza knew the number of bills that had been submitted to her office for payment but could only estimate the amount of bills still being held in agencies.

 

“Now we can all see a clearer picture of what Illinois owes to small business, universities, community colleges, social service providers and others,” Mendoza said in a statement. “The Debt Transparency Report takes the politics out of the numbers to provide meaningful data.”

 

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