Dems chart path to borrow money for Ill.’s shaky unemployment system for third time in two decades – NPR IL

The $2.7 billion — a full third of the $8.1 billion in Illinois’ ARPA funds — is more than had been previously floated either publicly or in months of private negotiations on how to handle the state’s unemployment debt. But even with that surprise boost, the state will still have to find another source to fully pay off the $4.5 billion it owes the U.S. Treasury. The most likely funding scenario is a case of deja vu: Just like after the economic downturns of 2001 and 2008, Illinois could go to the bond market to raise a yet-to-be-agreed-to sum. And like it’s already done twice in the past two decades, Illinois may trade one interest rate for another, borrowing from private lenders to pay back what it borrowed from the feds.