Landlords are cracking down on a group of derilict renters: Illinois state senators.
The state’s budget is so bad that at least five state senators have so much unpaid rent on their offices, landlords are asking them when the government, who is charged with picking up the tab for the offices, plans to pay its bills, reports the Chicago Tribune.
"It certainly puts us in a position of looking like deadbeats," said Sen. Mike Jacobs , an East Moline Democrat who received an eviction notice last year, to the Chicago Tribune.
The payment from the state eventually arrived — nine months late. None of the lawmakers have actually been evicted yet, but they are experiencing first hand how slow it takes the state to pay its bills.
Late payments or no payments could explain how the state has reached a $13 billion deficit.
Not only is rent not being paid for, but utility bills have piled up too. Sen. John Jones, R-Mount Vernon has received calls from collection agencies about his power and phone bills being late, reported the Chicago Tribune.
Some senators owe well over $12,000 for months of late rent for their state offices.
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If landlords don’t receive payments soon, some lawmakers may have to find a new place to work from sooner than they thought. Gov. Pat Quinn should maybe put paying rent for state senators a little higher on his 2010 budget priority list.
