SPRINGFIELD – Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza offered this comment following Moody’s Investors Service’s upgrade of Illinois’ credit rating Tuesday:
“This eighth upgrade in less than two years is exactly what I have been working for since I took office six years ago. We have paid down Illinois’ backlog of bills from a high of $16.7 billion during the budget impasse to an accounts payable of $2.4 billion today. Where once state vendors waited 210 business days to get paid, today the oldest General Funds bill in my office is 17 days old. Investors can rest assured Illinois remains a sound investment. A better credit rating means taxpayers pay less for the bonds that fund public infrastructure in Illinois.
“My Rainy Day Bill, HB2515/SB2443, championed by Rep. Stephanie Kifowit and Sen. Mike Halpin, which passed a House committee 9-0 this month, will enshrine these responsible budgeting practices of requiring regular payments into the Rainy Day Fund and the Pension Stabilization Fund, leading to even more upgrades.
“These credit upgrades are a testament to the responsible debt management my office has undertaken in recent years, and the responsible budgets engineered by the legislature and the Governor.”
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Excerpts from Moody’s announcement Tuesday:
“The state is on track to close fiscal 2023, which ends June 30, with further growth in reserves that are already at their strongest level in over a decade. The state is also increasing payments to its pension plans.”
“The state is, however, displaying improved management of its budget by making conservative revenue assumptions and applying surplus revenue towards the payment of debt and growth in reserves.”
