By Heather Wilhelm

Are you a compulsive debtor?  The state of Illinois certainly is.   

Leave alone the fact that the state is broke, facing $4.7 billion in unpaid bills. From a purely psychological standpoint, judging by the guidelines from Debtors Anonymous, the state is a textbook case in compulsive insolvency. Some highlights:

• Sign #1:  Being unclear about your financial situation. Not knowing account balances, monthly expenses, loan interest rates, fees, fines, or contractual obligations.
  
• Sign #5:  Difficulty in meeting basic financial or personal obligations, and/or an inordinate sense of accomplishment when such obligations are met.   
  
• Sign #7: Living in chaos and drama around money: Using one credit card to pay another; bouncing checks; always having a financial crisis to contend with.
• Sign #9: Unwarranted inhibition and embarrassment in what should be a normal discussion of money.
  

It’s a pretty open-and-shut case—but Illinois, meanwhile, remains deep in denial, telling citizens that it’s doing all that it can to curb spending and budget responsibly.  

But is it? 

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