Lawmakers should wait in line with other state vendors, Comptroller says
CHICAGO - Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger delivered the following remarks during a Chicago news conference this afternoon responding to a Democrat lawsuit filed in Cook County court today seeking expedited pay for state lawmakers:
"Late this morning, on the last day of my administration, six Democrat lawmakers filed suit to ensure they are paid before the hospitals, schools, small businesses, human service organizations and others that are waiting in line for payment from the state.
"Their action comes eight months after I implemented a policy requiring that all state elected leaders - myself included - be treated just like everyone else. How cowardly and self-serving that while they refused to challenge my action while I was in office, they are now going to Court when there will be a new Administration led by one of their own.
"Today, our state has more than 126,000 unpaid bills totaling more than $10.3 billion and our office is paying invoices dating back to June 17. That means vendors throughout the state are waiting six months or more for payment they have been promised. We ended the month of October with just $10 million in cash available to pay down $8 billion in bills. Yet, these lawmakers are going to the Court to ask that they receive preferential treatment and get paid first. Literally every dollar counts in our ability to fund critical services -- and there are no words for my disgust and disappointment with this lawsuit.
"Illinois has now gone 17 months without a budget in place. Lawmakers were in Springfield for three days this week yet once again failed to get the job done. If those lawmakers spent as much time and energy on passing a comprehensive balanced budget as they have on filing lawsuits and getting their own paychecks, Illinois would be in a better place.
"But because of their failure, Illinois will enter the New Year without a mechanism to fund higher education, student MAP grants, domestic violence shelters, local governments, small businesses, and other human service organizations that assist our most vulnerable residents.
"It is now up to a new Comptroller and a new Administration to decide how to approach this lawsuit. It is my sincere hope that although Comptroller-elect Susana Mendoza has spent a decade in the General Assembly, she will live up to her campaign promise and do the right thing and vigorously defend the right of the Comptroller to fund critical services for the state, and not give preferential treatment to politicians.
"And, if the lawmakers succeed in their legal action, it is incumbent on voters throughout the state to call their elected leaders and ask them to explain why they are entitled to jump the line in front of every other state vendor and the many organizations serving our elderly, children, developmentally disabled and most vulnerable residents.
"As a reminder, the problems we face today are decades are in the making. It does not help to promise funding to any group when there is no money to write the checks. It is imperative that we pass a balanced budget - and instead of filing lawsuits, I encourage lawmakers to return to Springfield and do their job so that the state can meet its obligations and everyone is paid on time."
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