Illinois Universities Pondering Legal Action To Force Allocation

But winners of the Illinois state lottery were in for a nasty shock when they were given IOU’s and not their cash due to the ongoing state budget impasse, which has left the agency out of money. Suddenly you’re gonna the rug out from underneath us.

The state lottery also is issuing IOUs for any winnings over $600. That was a few months ago.

Rhonda Rasche is still waiting, but not holding her breath, for her $50,000 in winnings.

“I heard about the $600 last night”, Chasteen said Thursday. “But I think we have to set priorities, and the priority, I believe, is the budget”. For a ticket worth more than that, winners get an IOU that won’t be paid off until the state government resolves its long-running budget crisis.

Lottery officials said Wednesday that they anticipated the agency’s check writing account would be exhausted the next day and that there was no legal authority to replenish it. “Once a budget is passed, all outstanding claims will be paid”.

Things have been going downhill for Illinois lottery winners for a while.

Elliot Frome, a Las Vegas-based gaming analyst and author, said Illinois will nearly certainly see a reduction in ticket sales.

“We’re going to lose the business, too, because people are not going to buy”, Yogi Dalal said.

The governor and Democratic leaders are at an impasse over the budget, more than 100 days into the 2016 fiscal year. He said thousands more could be added to the legal fight.

Democrats complain Rauner and the GOP have been unwilling to work with them until the governor gets what he wants, and they don’t consider his agenda items directly related to the annual budget.

Mark Fitton is a reporter for Illinois News Network.