Illinois comptroller announces early pay-back of federal loan

Posted on January 6, 2022

*Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza. (WJBC file photo)*

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – It was not exactly a mortgage-burning party, but the state’s checkwriter-in-chief did take time Wednesday to brag a little about the state’s financial condition.

“We – two years ahead of schedule – have made the final $302 million payment on the $2 billion loan the state took out in 2020 to cover covid-19 expenses in the middle of the pandemic,” state Comptroller Susana Mendoza said. “All of this repayment was done without using a penny of the federal stimulus dollars..”

The state took out the loan prior to receiving the federal covid relief money.

Mendoza cautioned against acting as if the $82 million saved is a license to, say, fix more roads or hire more teachers. She said fiscal stability means putting a priority on chipping away at debt.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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