Money is fungible. My one dollar bill is the
same
as yours. Its the basis of our banking system.
And its true everywhere in the United States.
But its not exactly true in Illinois.
Because Illinois has Fiscal Year 2016 dollars.
And
beginning on July 1, Illinois will have Fiscal
Year
2017 dollars. But they arent equal. They cannot
be
used interchangeably to pay bills. And that is a
dark cloud hanging over the heads of the Pay Now
Illinois Coalition members who are owed more
than
$100 million for services performed under
contracts
since the start of the current Fiscal Year on
July
1, 2015.
Once the fiscal year ends, those FY2016 dollars
cant be tapped again. They are gone. Old work
needs to be paid with old money. With June 30
approaching, that old money is slipping away. It
exists on paper, but it cant be accessed
without
going through the Court of Claims, additional
appropriations, more budget impasses, mind
boggling
delays and continuing state politics. And even
then, those owed Fiscal year 2016 money are
unlikely to get paid in full.
Which is why the plaintiffs filed suit against
the
Governor and several department heads. To get
paid
in full now. The goal of the suit, which claims
breach of contract among other things, seeks
payment to avoid the bureaucratic and time
intensive Court of Claims process.
If the state cant reach the fiscal year 2016
budget in 2016, does anyone really think they
will
be able to reach a Fiscal Year 2017 agreement?
And
that leads to the next big question will there
be
new money for new work?
Who suffers? According to this investment banker
in
an interview with Bloomberg Business News,
everyone
in the state:
Bondholders pay attention to distress in social
services for the borrower, said Adam Buchanan,
senior vice president of sales and trading at
Ziegler, a broker-dealer in Chicago. Its a
signal
of weakness of potentially greater problems in
the
future.
Potentially greater problems in the future
can
it get any more ominous?
In the meantime, business continues as usual in
Springfield with two intractable sides and no
results. No movement. No budget. And the stack
of
unpaid bills gets higher.