Budget fight leaves Illinois with overdue bills

Springfield, Ill. — The Friday afternoon email read with remarkable alacrity, given its message: The trip to a Springfield store to buy all- purpose Fabuloso Cleaner for the Secretary of State's office was for naught.

“They would not sell to us because we are shut off due to lack of payment,” the storeroom worker wrote to his boss and others. “Have a great weekend!”

As Illinois politicians continue to squabble over a budget that should have taken effect July 1, hundreds of state contractors have been left with little more than I.O.U. s, according to more than 500 pages of documents — just since Nov. 1 — released to The Associated Press under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

From a $ 28.44 late- notice water and sewer bill at the 1848 Mt. Pulaski Courthouse — which had neither when Abraham Lincoln practiced law there — to $ 4.8 million that Illinois owes Michigan for a health partnership, vendors have flooded the Capitol with disconnect warnings, credit- hold notices, desperate pleas and even a frowny face stamp in an effort to get paid.

The state owes $ 2 million to Ashley's Quality Care in Chicago, which provides in- home care workers to keep seniors out of nursing homes, according to chief accountant Michael Robinson. The company has not met its payroll for 14 weeks, forcing the departure of 40 percent of its previous 1,000 employees; clientele has dipped by one-third, to 800, slicing revenue.

“You go from affecting a company, to its employees, to the clients, to the social well- being of the community,” Robinson said.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, insistent on pro- business changes to boost commerce, can't agree on an annual spending plan with Democrats who control the Legislature. They oppose his conservative agenda, saying a multibillion-dollar deficit needs tax- increase and spending-cut triage.

“No one is more frustrated about the lack of a budget than Gov. Rauner,” said his spokeswoman, Catherine Kelly. “Bills could be paid if the Democratic majority in the Legislature worked with the governor to pass structural reforms and a balanced budget.”

The Department of Central Management Services, which oversees state facilities and purchasing, doesn't track service disruptions because the number constantly changes as officials work to resolve issues, spokeswoman Meredith Krantz said. As for CMS, the agency declared the AP's FOIA request for vendor notifications too burdensome to honor. A preliminary search revealed 7,800 emails related to the subject.