Illinois is in massive debt with a deadline looming next week -- who will pay when they can't?

Illinois hasn’t had a state budget for two years, and it’s heading for financial disaster that may strike as soon as next week.

The state, which is a whopping $15 billion in debt, needs to have a budget by the beginning of the next fiscal year. July 1 is looming, and if Illinois can’t put together a budget that deals with the debt by then, the state’s debt may be downgraded to a junk rating by credit rating agencies. When Illinois missed a budget deadline earlier this month, Moody's and S&P Global lowered their assessment of the state’s debt to a rating one level above junk.

Doc Thompson channeled his inner Glenn Beck to share the story on Thursday’s “The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson.”

The Illinois financial disaster has been “building probably for 50 years,” he said. In addition to the $15 billion debt, the state will owe around $800 million in interest and fees on the unpaid bills by June 30, according to a Bloomberg report.

Living in another state doesn’t mean you should ignore the story because all of the other states will have to pick up the bill if Illinois can’t pay up. Taxpayers inevitably have to pay the piper when lawmakers have free rein to spend.

To see more from Doc, visit his channel on TheBlaze and listen live to “The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson” weekdays 6–9 a.m. ET, only on TheBlaze Radio Network.