Illinois Is Awash in Debt Even Before 2019 Budget Pitch
- State already facing deficit spending, budget gap: Comptroller
- Lowering taxes by quarter point may cut revenue by $1 billion
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As Illinois prepares for Governor Bruce Rauner to unveil a proposed budget next week, the worst-rated state is already awash in billions of dollars of red ink, according to Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
Lawmakers and Rauner will have to contend with deficit spending in the current fiscal year as they work to craft a spending plan for next year, according to Mendoza, a Democrat whose office is charged with paying the state’s bills. She outlined the shortfall in an interview at her office in Chicago: