SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - For 35 years, frail senior citizens in southern Illinois could turn to the Shawnee Development Council for help cleaning the house, buying groceries or any of the chores that make the difference between living at home or moving to an institution.Read the rest here.
No more. The council shut down the program Thursday because of a budget crisis created by the state of Illinois' failure to pay its bills.
Paralyzed by the worst deficit in its history, the state has fallen months behind in paying what it owes to businesses and organizations, pushing some of them to the edge of bankruptcy.
Illinois isn't bothering with the formality of issuing IOUs, as California did last year. It simply doesn't pay.
Plenty of states face major deficits as the recession continues. They're cutting services or raising taxes or expanding gambling to close the gap. But Illinois is taking the extra step of ignoring bills.
Right now, $4.4 billion worth of bills, some dating back to October, are sitting in the Illinois comptroller's office waiting to be paid someday.
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