State becoming more tardy in paying bills

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes says in a new report the state finished the first three months of its budget year with a mountain of unpaid bills and record delays in payments.

The report goes on to say the state's economy is still faltering, and the backlog of bills and payment delays will increase.

As of Tuesday, the report said, more than $1.8 billion worth of bills were sitting in the comptroller's office that couldn't be paid because the state didn't have the money. A year ago at this time, Hynes' office had nearly $1.4 billion in bills waiting to be paid.

It's also taking longer to pay those bills once they reach Hynes' office. The payment delay is 42 working days. That does not include the time state agencies hold on to bills before passing them on to the comptroller's office.