Comptroller Suzanna Mendoza borrowed $105 million from various state funds in March to make emergency payments to the state’s hospitals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mendoza is advising all state vendors that there will likely be payment delays in April, in part because the tax filing deadline for both state and federal taxes has been pushed back to July 15th. The comptroller’s office has authority to engage in such borrowing to meet short-term cash flow needs of the general revenue fund. The impact on the state’s revenue by Governor J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order has not hit yet.
Some of the borrowed funds have been used to capture federal matches and contributed to a $145 million increase in federal revenue to the state last Month according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
Illinois is also battling a backlof of unpaid bills now totaling over $8 billion.