State of Illinois Check for $40 Bounces

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ A woman walks into a bank and confronts the teller, "How can I have 'insufficient funds' when I've got all these checks left?"

That's Illinois' mindset on the eve of Gov. Pat Quinn signing the largest Illinois capital construction bill in history--$29 billion--that would include $10 million or more for a new Du Quoin High School.

Only blocks away from where a total of $16 million will be spent on a new high school, a Du Quoin doctor opens an envelope from his bank containing a check written by the State of Illinois marked "insufficient funds." The check from Illinois Treasurer Alexis Giannoulias was for $40 and was cleared through the office of Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, whose quarterly bulletin last week said the state has a backlog of well over $2 billion in bills--an historic high.

The doctor has been told to redeposit the check after July 7, which would have been Tuesday.

Gov. Quinn Thursday he plans to sign long-delayed legislation creating a huge public works program to help the Illinois economy Monday, a decision that was greeted warmly by legislators and unions.

The legislation had been held up by disputes over how to balance the state budget. Quinn's decision to sign it could be seen by legislators as a good-will gesture in the continuing arguments. Quinn also said that he might be open to a temporary budget that would keep government operating for months while negotiations continue. The public works program will be Illinois' first major investment in roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure in nearly a decade. Illinois will borrow billions of dollars to pay for the construction and pay off the debt over many years with money from video gambling, higher liquor taxes and higher fees on driver's licenses and license plates.