UI is paying flood of bills by using its rainy day account

The University of Illinois faces a cash-flow crisis that any homeowner – maybe a really rich homeowner – can identify with. The state owes the UI about $475 million for services rendered over the past seven months. About $743 million in general tax revenue was appropriated to the university last summer for the current school year. But with a $12 billion budget deficit looming, and tax receipts dropping, the state doesn’t have the money to pay the UI or other vendors. As of Wednesday, the total backlog of unpaid bills stood at $3.8 billion, not counting the $2.25 billion in loans that have to be repaid by June, according to the comptroller’s office.