Quinn wants state to borrow nearly $1 billion to pay bills

[October 28, 2009]  SPRINGFIELD (AP) -- Gov. Pat Quinn says that he wants Illinois to take a short-term loan of $900 million to get the indebted state through the winter.

The state is already struggling with a budget that relies on debt and putting off unpaid bills to close a deficit that topped $11 billion last summer. And Quinn's office noted earlier this month that revenue could fall another $900 million short of what was expected.

Short-term borrowing is routine for state government. Illinois borrowed $1 billion in May and $1.25 billion in August to pay piled-up bills. But those loans and the one Quinn is now proposing need to be paid back before the end of the fiscal year.

[Associated Press]

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