Moody's Warns of Another Downgrade for Illinois

Rating agency report points to dire outlook for state's credit standing

Pointing to Illinois' $6.6 billion in unpaid bills, Moody’s warned Monday of an additional downgrade to the state’s credit rating.  

According to a report from the credit rating agency, the unpaid bills serve as “a clear indicator of weak liquidity and governance.”

The state’s credit rating was downgraded last October to Baa1, a lower level investment grade bond rating with a negative outlook.

In the report, Moody’s concedes that it is likely the state will be able to pay the principal and interest on $27 billion of general obligation bonds in a timely manner. 

Nonetheless, the rating agency offered a dire outlook for the state’s finances.

“The prospects that the unpaid bill backlog will rise to substantially higher levels or that growth will extend beyond the current fiscal year are likely to put further pressure on the state’s credit standing."

The State of Illinois has been without an official budget since June of last year. 

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