That's the anticipated size of Illinois' budget deficit in Fiscal Year 2010, according to a new report by State Comptroller Dan Hynes.  It's much higher than the $6 billion figure he had thrown around previously, though he says it could drop back to that level once the federal stimulus money is factored in:

Hynes blames a combination of major spending problems, huge backlogs in paying providers, soaring health care and pension expenses and tanking revenue in a sour economy.

On WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias talked at length about the structural deficit in Illinois.  He repeatedly said that a recession is not a good time to raise taxes on Illinois families, but when pressed about the possibility of a tax increase by Elizabeth Brackett, he acknowledged: "At some point there's going to have to be a revenue enhancement."  Watch it:

Archpundit responds to Giannoulias' similar statements on ABC 7 this way:

[Y]es, it’s a horrible time to raise taxes, but the state cannot function without it. We’ve amassed nearly $5 billion in debt that we have carried over and carried over and carried over. The bill is due and while we certainly won’t solve the problem this year, starting a multiyear bonding plan combined with continuing to underfund pensions along with significant tax increases are the only way forward. Avoiding it, as we have done for years on end will only result in bigger deficits down the road.

For more on the issue of recessionary tax reform, check out our earlier post on the subject.

Ed. Note: Kudos to WTTW for providing embeddable video.  Another byproduct of our YouTube dispute, perhaps?