Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka says Illinois is running out of money for child welfare, workers' compensation and services for seniors and the disabled.
Topinka is the state's chief fiscal officer. In a statement yesterday, she says state agencies need about $1 billion to carry them through the end of the fiscal year in June.
Topinka, a Republican, says lawmakers need to ``end the denial'' and deal with the crisis before it jeopardizes critical services residents need. "We need to end that, end that denial and address these budget shortfalls now so that you avoid the fire drill that happens later and total panic because we saw that last year."
She's urging them to transfer money from more financially sound programs.
Last year more than 40,000 child care providers were notified they wouldn't get state funding for three months because the child care fund had run out of cash. Legislators later moved $73.6 million from other parts of the budget to supplement the fund.
