By Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – The budget that passed last week spends $38.5 billion of state money. Only $15 million of that may be for backlogged bills, if there’s any reserve at all.

Gov. Bruce Rauner praised the plan as bipartisan. After signing the budget Monday, he said that federal tax overhaul and ongoing deregulation has unexpectedly boosted the national economy.

“That has generated significant new tax revenues that were not planned for,” said Rauner. “That’s very significant and that allowed us to get this budget negotiation done.”

But S&P Global Ratings said that’s a nonrecurring windfall. S&P’s report issued Tuesday said the growth in the nation’s economy could reverse, which would hit Illinois’ finances hard because of its structural imbalance.

S&P also said proposed pension savings can’t be guaranteed because it depends on volunteers who may or may not take part in a buyback plan.

In a report issued Tuesday, S&P Global Ratings said the planned Fiscal Year 2019 budget is “more of the same” and doesn’t do anything to change the state’s lowest investment grade credit rating. In other words, Illinois’ bonds still remain one notch above junk status, the lowest in the nation.

One of Illinois’ several credit risks S&P says remains is the still-elevated unpaid bill backlog.

Before voting against the budget last week, Palatine Republican state Rep. Tom Morrison said the backlog of bills needs to be addressed.

“Well because there remains such a large backlog of bills that we are paying interest on, that were not actually applying to helping the people, or in the form of tax reductions, it is a form of a tax to carry such a backlog of bills with interest,” said Morrison.

Some of the more than $7 billion of bills as of Tuesday carry up to a 12 percent interest rate taxpayers are saddled with.