If Companies Won’t Do Business with Illinois, What’s Next?

Vendor wants payment upfront from Illinois state government.

By Kate Piercy

Shore Galleries Inc. refused to ship bullets to the Illinois Department of Corrections unless the state paid the vendor upfront, according to a report from the Herald Review today. Currently, the state owes the Lincolnwood firm $6,000, and they don’t want to add another expense to the state’s tab.

Will other vendors start doing the same?

This story may become more common as more companies lose trust in the state’s ability to pay its bills, and it quite clearly reveals the state is not running government as efficiently or cost-effectively as it could, which isn’t much of a surprise to most people at this point. Businesses need to react and make changes to operation when finances turn south. Our state government needs to do the same and change course from business as usual.

The state could turn its budget situation around by taking action in a number of areas, and the Illinois Policy Institute has offered many ideas, including forming a Council on Efficient Government, taking advantage of online reverse auctions, Budget Solutions 2010, and the 2010 Legislators’ Guide to the Issues, to name a few.

If companies in Illinois won’t even do business with the state, what are taxpayers to think? This is just one more reason to be concerned about how the state is spending tax dollars. For an inside look into the details of state spending, check out www.IllinoisOpenGov.org, and you can even look up Shore Galleries Inc. under expenses made by the Illinois Department of Corrections if you’re curious.