Trouble is brewing in Mercer County that could lead to a lawsuit against the State of Illinois.
"Suing the state is easy because they owe us the money," Mercer County Board member Ted Pappas said.
The hope for Mercer County leaders is to avoid a lawsuit, but the Illinois budget impasse could push them into a court room.
In a typical year, the state pays the county up to half the salaries for the State's Attorney, Public Defender and Assessor, totaling around $150,000. That money is not coming, so county leaders decided to pay the salaries in full.
"There is a significant amount of stress that's put on by not having these reimbursements with counties like Mercer that have very small budgets and very tight cash positions," Pappas said.
The three positions not being paid by the state in the county is creating a serious financial bind, and they're running out of time before a lawsuit comes into play.
Mercer County State's Attorney Greg McHugh tells News 8 that a lawsuit may be the only way the county gets those payments, and he's ready to move forward with legal action.
For Pappas, he would prefer to have a budget passed before getting to that step.
"These are unprecedented times right now, and I could say nothing really surprises me in Illinois. I hope that soon that we can get a budget passed," Pappas said.
Pappas says the county will continue to pay those salaries, while getting the state back to paying its share.
He also says that if a budget isn't passed by the next county board meeting on November 3rd, board members and the State's Attorney are in agreement to move forward with legal action.