Rockford Girl Scouts face 'cookie debt'

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WLS) -- There's credit card debt and student loan debt, but now some people need to be worried about "cookie debt."

Cookie debt is the term given to those who don't pay Girl Scouts for the popular cookies they've purchased and it's a growing problem for troops in Rockford.

Officials there say the current cookie debt comes out to about $20,000.

"We have a delinquency form that the troops can fill out. And we make sure that we get to the bottom of it and if we don't get to the bottom of it, we make sure it's passed on to local law enforcement," Ann-Marie Soderstrom, Girl Scouts communication manager, said.

Troop members are barred from selling cookies until all of their debt is settled.

But officials try to make sure they are not punished if some of their girls are dealing with cookie debt.