Comptroller Susana Mendoza Reports Closure of Another Successful Fiscal Year

Monday,  July 1, 2024

With the close of fiscal year 2024 on June 30, Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza reports another successful year in paying the state’s bills and obligations in a timely manner while also putting additional funds toward the state’s Rainy Day Fund. 

For the third consecutive year, the Illinois Office of Comptroller (IOC) released all pending bills and transfers in the state’s General Revenue Fund (GRF), leaving zero unpaid GRF bills at the IOC. 

This means the IOC is up to date 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. 

“I’m committed to giving our state providers and vendors the stability and predictability that they should expect from state government. Having received countless hardship calls from these providers and vendors during the state’s budget impasse, I believe it is the responsible approach we must continue to take,” Comptroller Mendoza said.   

Providers are thankful that they can rely on the IOC. 

“Timely payments to nursing homes and managed care organizations are essential to operations and for providing care to our elderly Medicaid residents,” said Matt Pickering, Executive Director at the Health Care Council of Illinois. “We appreciate the Comptroller’s leadership and support of health care providers by prioritizing state reimbursements for vital services.” 

Garth Reynolds, Executive Director of the Illinois Pharmacists Association expressed similar sentiments: “Community pharmacies depend on receiving regular and timely payments from the state to maintain their successful operations and to avoid becoming a pharmacy desert in their community. Support for Critical Access Pharmacies in particular, exhibits the state’s commitment to ensuring access to pharmacists and needed medications.”  

Even after addressing all the state’s bills, the Comptroller reports an end-of-year cash balance in the state’s General Revenue Fund of $1.7 billion. That is a 55% increase over last year’s balance of $1.1 billion, a level the state hadn’t seen since 1999.  

By maintaining a healthy cash balance throughout FY24, the state was able to generate over $558 million in interest income, or 53% more than last year.  

Comptroller Mendoza will not wait to put the additional funds to good use. She plans to exercise a new law permitting the IOC to pre-pay required monthly pension payments when the state can do so.    

“We have told the state retirement systems to send us 50% more in monthly vouchers in July so we can advance these payments. This will enable the systems to plan accordingly and keep more of the pension funds in their investment portfolios,” Mendoza said.   

The Comptroller has been a steadfast advocate for making extra payments into the state pension systems and Rainy Day Fund during healthier fiscal times. Fiscal year 2024 year began after a $200 million infusion into pensions just days before, along with $160 million deposited in the last year into the state’s Rainy Day Fund and another $45 million being deposited into the Rainy Day Fund in these first days of FY25. It is anticipated the Rainy Day fund balance will rise to about $2.3 billion by the end of this fiscal year in June 2025.  

“Each year, we continue to see improvements in the state’s fiscal stability,” Mendoza said. “Careful planning, timely bill processing, financial management and preparing for future emergencies has been key to getting state government back on track and has been noticed by bond rating agencies and business owners. We must heed the advice given by the credit rating agencies that Illinois must still do more to enhance our reserves and continue to pay down our pension obligations.” 

###