(Crain's) - A bill approved by the General Assembly will allow Illinois to proceed with the sale of bonds for the state's new $31-billion capital construction plan, despite continuing concerns about the plan's new revenue sources created to pay off the debt.

A work-around enacted during last week's veto session allows the state to borrow temporarily from the road fund, which comes from gasoline taxes, to make payments on bonds issued for capital construction projects.

The money to pay off those bonds is supposed to come from several new revenue sources. But litigation to block liquor tax hikes and a stream of cities opting out of video gambling threw those new revenues and the sale of bonds into doubt.

"This allows us to use the road fund as a backstop to commit to projects now," said Dick Smith, director of planning and programming for the Illinois Department of Transportation. "It kind of took the pressure off."

Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign the measure, which is part of a bill that accelerates payments to hospitals this year to obtain an additional $1 billion in Medicaid funding for the cash-hungry state.

Any use of road funds to service debt for the capital construction plan will have to be paid back.

IDOT "seems to have come up with a plan that makes sense," said Michael Sturino, president and CEO of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Assn.