In a last ditch attempt at privatization, Illinois has opened the bidding process for private firms to manage its lottery business – which is considered to be the state’s bread and butter in funding schools and for road and bridge repair and construction.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Gov. Bruce Rauner is looking for a new firm that will handle the state lottery, which had recently become a national embarrassment because it lacked the statutory authority to pay big winners.

Northstar Lottery Services, which bagged the award to manage day-to-day operations of the lottery in exchange for a small cut of the profit, is set to exit on January 1, 2017 as a result of legal impasse over the state’s lottery policies that had greatly affected its revenues.

“Our Illinois Lottery has been very poorly run and has failed to meet expectations for years,” Rauner said, hoping that a deal can be reached with a private company on or before January 2017.