The state is again racking up unpaid utility bills for its Springfield offices. City Water, Light and Power spokeswoman Amber Sabin says Illinois owes about $3.5 million in past-due payments. The state was as much as $12 million behind on its electricity and water bills last year.
The company sent a letter threatening to shut off services last July before the state caught up with the help of a temporary spending plan approved in June. Sabin says the state's payments began lagging again this March.
The state has gone nearly two years without a full budget and Illinois' total bill backlog sits at $14.4 billion. Lawmakers have yet to reach a budget agreement with less than two weeks remaining in the current session.
