Union and Saline counties are the latest in a string of Southern Illinois counties to file a lawsuit against two state officials for the reimbursement of funds that haven’t been made available due to the state budget impasse in Springfield.

Saline County’s lawsuit was approved unanimously by the Saline County Board at its Tuesday meeting and Union County announced their suit Wednesday. Bot name as defendants Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger and Illinois Department of Revenue Director Constance Beard.

The suits seek to have the court compel the State of Illinois to pay amounts owed the counties, which the State has failed to do since July when the new fiscal year began without a state budget.

However, Saline County is currently operating without its own budget in place, and so is lacking in funds.

Because of that situation, when the Saline County State’s Attorney’s Office filed the lawsuit Wednesday funds were not available to pay a $120 fee to have summonses served on Munger and Beard. State’s Attorney Mike Henshaw has indicated he will pay the $120 out of pocket and will not seek reimbursement.

Franklin, Gallatin, and Williamson counties have filed similar suits. The trend started with St. Clair County, which filed suit and won in court last month. Funds owed St. Clair County have since been released to its officials, however, the ruling did not mandate release of funds to other Illinois counties.