Enacting a state budget for the current fiscal year is all well and good. But it doesn't solve Illinois' problems.

Far from it.

The closing of the alcohol and drug detoxification center operated by Chestnut Health Systems in Bloomington demonstrates that Illinois' problems go much deeper.

Despite the timing, the primary cause for its termination was not the budget impasse.

Chestnut ended the program July 1 because the program was chronically underfunded. Although it cost about $380,000 annually to operate the inpatient detox program, the state provided only $285,000 a year.

With the state cutting funding for other programs run by Chestnut, the agency decided it could no longer afford to make up the difference between state funding and actual costs.

Couple underfunding with delayed payments and it's easy to see why many agencies - not just Chestnut - are struggling.

Comptroller Dan Hynes recently reported that the state ended the fiscal year with an "unprecedented" backlog of bills - $2.785 billion. That compares to a backlog of $208 million a year ago.

Furthermore, "the delay in paying bills was 99 working days this June compared to seven days at the same time last year," according to the July edition of Comptroller's Quarterly.

Do the math. With roughly 20 "working days" in a month, that's a five-month delay in paying bills. And that's not counting the delays in agencies forwarding bills to the comptroller's office.

We hear from many service providers who tell us they routinely have to wait six months or more for bills to be paid by the state.

Among stipulations that came with the federal stimulus money is that the state must get its Medicaid payment cycle down to 30 days.

That's good news - but the good news doesn't go far it means even longer delays for service providers who aren't part of the Medicaid program. The budget approved Wednesday is based, in part, on $3.2 billion in bills not being paid in a timely manner.

Yes, the economic downturn hit state government hard, with overall revenues down 9 percent in fiscal year 2009. But the economic downturn also hit private businesses hard. When the state doesn't pay its bills in a reasonable time, that makes matters worse.

State officials must address the long-term financial condition of Illinois. They must institute true cost-control measures, not just shove costs on others through late and/or inadequate payments. By cost control, we mean eliminating unnecessary programs, tightening eligibility rules and restructuring programs such as Medicaid.

Otherwise, more programs and agencies are likely to shut down.