Illinois Budget Madness: Musical Acts Get Paid First

Reuters reports:

To see the fickle fiscal state of affairs in cash-strapped Illinois, you need look no further than how the musical acts Styx, Sammy Hagar and Hank Williams Jr got paid for performing at the state fair in August, but the woman who sculpted the event’s life-sized butter cow did not.

Nearly five months into a budget impasse pitting new Republican Governor Bruce Rauner against long-serving Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, Illinois is deep into uncharted territory.

Vendors are paid, or denied payment, at the behest of obscure laws or on demand from state and federal courts, resulting in misshapen priorities between the budgetary haves and have-not's.

A provision in state law, for example, allows grandstand acts to be paid up-front, enabling Rauner’s administration to authorize more than $2 million in expedited payments to 20 performers, state records show.

No equal protection under the law for you!