* Press release…

With the close of fiscal year 2025 on June 30, Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza reports another successful year in paying the state’s bills in a timely manner while the state’s Rainy Day Fund balance has again increased to new records.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Illinois Office of Comptroller (IOC) released all pending bills to vendors from the state’s General Revenue Fund (GRF), while reporting an end-of-year GRF cash balance of $1.9 billion.

This means the IOC is current on all bills received related to Medicaid, the state’s Group Health Insurance program, elementary and high schools, higher education, and other government operations and programs. 

“Working with Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly, we have positioned the state in the most fiscally stable position we can, given the uncertainties of federal funding in the months to come,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “While we keep a close watch on the latest from Washington D.C., my office will continue to pay providers and vendors as quickly as possible to ensure they have the stability and predictability that they and the people who depend on them deserve.”

During fiscal year 2025, the state’s Rainy Day Fund received more than $256 million in transfers and deposits. Over the next 12 months, another $166 million is estimated to be deposited or transferred, bringing the total to more than $2.5 billion by the end of fiscal year 2026. Comptroller Mendoza continues to be a faithful advocate for making additional payments into the pensions systems and Rainy Day Fund during good years.

“We work hard each year to pay bills on time, build up the state’s emergency reserves and stress fiscal discipline, even in these uncertain times,” said Comptroller Mendoza. “My office will strive for continued improvement in state finances and credit ratings in the new budget year.”

With healthy GRF balances anticipated in July, Comptroller Mendoza will once again exercise a law enacted last year that permits the IOC to pre-pay required monthly pension payments when the state has the financial flexibility to do so.    

“We informed the state retirement systems to send us the vouchers for their November pension contributions this month so we can advance these payments early. This will enable the systems to plan accordingly and keep additional dollars in their investment portfolios into the new budget year,” Mendoza said.