Feds seek to seize her belongings including 311 registered quarter horses, plus their unborn foals expected in the coming months. more ›

State Comptroller Dan Hynes is saying there's still time to save payments to state workers in spite of the fact there's no budget and state lawmakers are waiting until July 14 to return to Springfield, one day before the next checks are scheduled to go out. Hynes says the payroll will be ready to go in case a budget is finalized. In addition, Hynes told WBEZ that social services won't be hurt until later in the summer since money is not immediately delivered, even when the state has a working budget: "If they provided services today, by the time they got their paperwork into the agency and it's submitted to our office, and with the cashflow delays we're having, we're talking several months. So that's why the day-to-day social services don't have a real, hard-and-fast deadline like a payroll does." It's the first time we've heard a "Don't Panic" from a state official, but it's being drowned out by the political posturing of those in charge of putting together the budget. more ›

Looks like the Thompson Center may see a mob of repo-men pretty soon. That’s because Comptroller Dan Hynes says the state’s backlog of unpaid bills could reach $5 billion by next year. According to the AP, Hynes sent out a letter to state leaders warning them of the fiscal crisis. “While it may have become a habit to dismiss my pronouncements as more of the same gloom and doom, the consequences of inaction are very real and potentially catastrophic,” Hynes said in the statement. He cautioned lawmakers that if nothing is done, state troopers might not be able to buy gasoline and food suppliers to state prisons will stop making deliveries. more ›