Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced this week that the state has paid off a $2 billion loan two years ahead of schedule, likely saving the state more than $80 million in interest payments.
Mendoza’s office made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that it had made the final $302 million payment on the loan.
The state took out the loan from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility, and used the money to help cover expenses during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With this early repayment, we take another important step toward restoring fiscal stability and predictability to Illinois,” Mendoza said in a statement.
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Gov. J.B. Priztker, House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon reached an agreement with Mendoza’s office in May 2021 to use stronger-than-expected revenues to pay the loan off early.
According to the press release, the loan was used to cover state medical bills during the pandemic. The loan was paid back using strictly state revenues, and no federal stimulus money was used for the payments, officials said.
Originally, the state had intended to make the final payments by Dec. 2023, but stronger-than-expected revenues from corporate income tax and sales tax receipts helped make it possible to pay off the loan sooner.
