Illinois is looking at an eight-point-three billion dollar deficit despite increasing the income tax earlier this year.   Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, says the only way for the state to make up the debt is by cutting spending further.

[audio:rddDebt1.mp3]A Word From Msall[/audio]

Msall adds the state's biggest budget problem is unfunded pensions.

[audio:rddDebt3.mp3]A Word From Msall[/audio]

The majority of the debt is in unpaid bills to state service providers and Medicaid backlog. The income tax increase resulted in three billion dollars in extra funding, but much of that was relegated to growing pension and borrowing costs.