This morning we flagged an ominous warning from State Sen. Donnie Trotter (D-Chicago), who predicted that "drastic cuts" to state services are on the horizon. With the backlog of bills already topping $3.7 billion and an estimated $11 billion shortfall looming over next year, there's no question that Illinois is running on fumes at the moment.  During a roundtable on WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday, Chicago Democratic Reps. Art Turner and Greg Harris pointed out the backdoor cuts that are already occurring across the state as a result of the General Assembly's failure to pass a responsible budget this year.  To illustrate the ripple effect, Turner reported that there is a severe shortage of amenities -- such as walkers -- at Stroger Hospital in Cook County, spurring some local residents to search for donations.

Host Carol Marin later asked the panel -- which included GOP Reps. Jim Durkin (Western Springs) and Suzie Bassi (Palatine) -- "Does it feel like the state's on fire and nobody can find the hose?" Watch an excerpt from their conversation:

TURNER: Absolutely. I have a relative that was just admitted to the hospital who informed me that he did not get a wash cloth, toothbrush, or any welcome to the hospital kit. And here was there for three days. It wasn't until they found out that his parents were there that they brought out the gowns and things. I went by to visit him and the nurse told me that the vendor has not been paid. So they're not dispensing walkers, slippers. My neighbor is a physical therapist and she's actually collecting walkers in the community to take to the hospital.

MARIN: Do you hear this from other constituents, Rep. Harris?

HARRIS: We hear service organizations are not able to pay their employees and take holidays because the state is not able to pay its bills. And they're behind in paying people in a timely manner who are doing the after-school programs for our children. It's only going to get worse until all of us take responsibility for what we need to do and bite the bullet.

"The numbers keep getting worse," Turner said elsewhere in the segment. "We have not seen a baseline for how bad it is."  Indeed, late fees are now being tacked onto state employees and retirees' medical bills, which are piling up on the comptroller's desk. Meanwhile, some agencies have begun refusing services. Felice Dworkin, an 83-year-old state retiree whose wheelchair has been broken for five months, for example, will have to keep waiting for repairs, as the Tribune reports today:

Before the budget crisis, the state was paying claims in about 15 days. By September, Illinois' Quality Care Health Plan took 185 days to pay in-network providers. Out-of-network claims took 212 days [...]

The wait for in-network payments is now more than 200 days; out-of-network claims take 230 days, [Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services said].

"If the state's going to be able to pay these providers in a timely manner, we're in desperate need of new revenue streams," Thompson said.

Other agencies, like Senior Services of Central Illinois, have cut another 30 percent from their budget and laid off 17 employees this week. The agency projects exhausting all of its reserves by the end of the year if the state continues to fall behind, which is looking almost inevitable. “We have to have revenue coming in,” executive director Karen Schainker told the State Journal-Register.

The same could be said for our the state government.