SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – The state’s savings account has hit another record high.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced Wednesday morning her office paid another $150 million into the Illinois Rainy Day Fund, also called the Budget Stabilization Fund, for the first time this year. The account now stands at $1.22 billion.
The comptroller has also scheduled three more payments before the end of the fiscal year. The transfers were approved by the Illinois legislature and signed off by the governor.
“It’s important we resist spending all the forecast revenue surplus on new spending,” Mendoza said. “We must instead put as much as we can into the state’s reserves to prepare for economic downturns.”
Mendoza said putting money into the Budget Stabilization Fund has helped with credit upgrades. The state has received eight credit upgrades from the three main credit agencies in the past two years.
In April 2018, the state had less than $50,000 in reserves after a 2-year state budget impasse.
The comptroller is also advocating for a law that would require annual investments into the Budget Stabilization Fund and Pension Stabilization Fund.