Moody’s Investors’ Service says Illinois’ backlog of bills has climbed to $6.6 billion dollars, as of the end of the calendar year, but that doesn’t paint the whole picture, according to a budget transparency group.

In a short report from Moody’s this week, the ratings agency says Illinois’ unpaid bills equal approximately 19 percent of the state’s general fund expenditures and is a quote “clear indicator of weak liquidity and governance.” Bill Bergman, director of research with Truth In Accounting, says the real picture is much more quote “staggering.”

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Truth In Accounting looks at all states and the country as a whole and Bergman says Illinois is at the bottom of the barrel which causes people to leave the state out of fear of a potentially higher tax burden and loss of state services.