That Dan Hynes, he sure is a Gloomy Gus.

Every time we hear from the guy, it seems like the financial sky is falling.

Last week, Hynes let forth with another missive to the governor and legislative leaders, saying the state's unpaid backlog of bills could hit a whopping and scary $5 billion by March.

His suggestion: Change Illinois law so the state can do some short-term borrowing to make sure businesses that have provided services and products to the state get paid.

That's all fine and well. It is very important to pay bills, especially when it comes to gassing up your car and putting food on the table.

In Hynes case, those two things could very well go by the wayside if a financial fix isn't forthcoming. For example, if the state doesn't pay its vendors, prisons could stop getting food shipments, and the state cops could be turned away from gas stations when they fill up their cruisers, he said.

Borrowing money, however, doesn't necessarily address the long-term financial problems facing the state.

With costs growing and revenues not meeting projections, some things will either have to be cut, or taxpayers will have to pony up more money.

The problem with cutting is that in order to get enough money to actually make a dent in the hole, you'd have to chop away at important stuff, such as school funding, health care funding and pensions. Lawmakers, like you and I, don't necessarily want to do things like that.

So, what are our elected officials thinking?

State Sen. James Clayborne, a Belleville Democrat who is vying to become the next Senate president, said last week he wants to look at a tax hike, as long as the money isn't used to expand government.

"At some point in time, we have to look at a revenue enhancement," Clayborne said.

The problem with that: Who wants to pay more just to get what you're already getting?

State Sen. Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat who is an expert on the state budget, said lawmakers could jumpstart the ailing economy by approving a statewide construction program, which would create jobs and, hence, more income and sales tax revenue for the state.

Hmmm. That sounds like an interesting alternative. But how would a statewide construction program be financed?

A tax increase.

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THE BORROWING GAME: Trotter was blunt in his assessment of Hynes idea to use a short-term borrowing scheme to get state bills paid.

"He didn't come up with any genius thoughts there," Trotter said.

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LEADERSHIP SCRAMBLE: The Senate was in session last week, and it seemed like every Democrat on the floor was angling to be the lucky one who will replace retiring Emil Jones as Senate president.

Well, not everyone wants the powerful position.

"Not me, for sure," said a recently re-elected Gary Forby, D-Benton. "I like it just fine where I'm at."

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FLEE CIRCUS: Another top aide to Gov. Rod Blagojevich has jumped ship.

With federal investigators circling ever closer to the Chicago Democrat, Blagojevich's budget guru, John Filan, left the administration for a plum appointment as head of the Illinois Finance Authority.

Perhaps Filan got tired of trying to make up ways the state could expand services without actually raising taxes.

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FAREWELL TO HALVORSON: Senators lined up last week to say goodbye to state Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, who is leaving for a job in Congress representing the 11th district.

Many gave her kudos for her 12-year rise to power as a woman in a chamber dominated by men.

But state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, shared a different kind of anecdote about what he'll always remember of the Crete Democrat's service in the Senate.

In the 1990s, the two of them spent an evening at an Illinois State Police office drinking wine.

The exercise was aimed at giving the senators first-hand knowledge of how they acted when drunk. Periodically, the two were given Breathalyzers to check the alcohol content in their blood.

The upshot: The following day, the drinking buddies cast votes to lower the state's legal drinking limit to 0.08 percent.

Cullerton added that a designated driver drove them home afterwards.

Later, as Halvorson thanked her colleagues for their kind words, she said, "I always think about how surreal this has been."

kurt.erickson@lee.net|217-789-0865