IL Seeks $2B Loan To Cover Medicaid Bills

Excellent credit risk, right?

SPRINGFIELD  —  Like any person who has a huge stack of unpaid bills, the state of Illinois has terrible credit. But lawmakers at the statehouse want to borrow $2 billion none the less.

An Illinois House panel on Wednesday approved a plan to borrow $2 billion to pay Illinois' 6-month-old stack of unpaid Medicaid bills.

"This is money we owe," said state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago. "We can talk all we want about the problems that remain on the table … But in the meantime, we owe these providers real money."