CHICAGO -- Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and not-for-profit leaders announced the formation of the Illinois Nonprofit Advisory Council to help service organizations deal with fiscal stress driven by chronically late state payments.
At the group’s first meeting, it discussed the state’s ongoing fiscal woes that have driven lengthy delays in vendor and aid payments.
“Many of our nonprofit organizations serve our most vulnerable residents and they simply cannot wait months on end for payment from the state,” Topinka said. “These meetings are intended to highlight the seriousness of the situation and explore what we can do about it.”
Illinois finished fiscal 2013 June 30 owing $1.4 billion less than it did in fiscal 2012, but still carried a backlog of $6.1 billion of bills into the new fiscal year.
“While Illinois appears to have made improvements in its overall financial condition during the past year, much of that is attributable to one-time revenue events,” the comptroller said in her quarterly newsletter earlier this month. “Further action will be required before Illinois can regain its fiscal footing, especially looking ahead to the scheduled reduction in income tax rates during fiscal year 2015.”
