The good news?  President Obama has announced that the extra Medicaid funding included in the economic recovery package will begin hitting the states this week.  The bad news?  Illinois officials aren't sure if they can spend it.  Chicago Public Radio reports:

President Barack Obama made the announcement with much fanfare Monday. He said the feds would begin lightning-quick payments of Medicaid money to states – starting today. The announcement took Illinois officials by surprise. People in several departments say they’re in the dark about how much money will roll in, and whether they can use it to pay down a huge backlog of old bills. 

As we explained last week, a provision in the final stimulus bill makes the Medicaid assistance contingent on each state's ability to promptly reimburse providers.  But at the moment, Illinois is facing an estimated $2 billion backlog in those payments.  State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston) has proposed one solution: allow for Gov. Quinn to borrow enough money to catch up on these bills and then receive the full -- and much-needed -- Medicaid allotment.  His bill is currently in committee and we'll be keeping careful watch on it.