Comptroller Susana Mendoza launches new webpage detailing Illinois’ bond debt

The webpage also provides information on the state’s credit ratings

The State of Illinois issues bonds to pay for large capital projects that will benefit state residents for many years to come – things like roads and bridges, school buildings, and train stations.

This new website features detailed information about specific budget-related bonds issued by the State of Illinois, and the progress made in paying them down. It also shows the state’s past and current bond ratings, and the total outstanding bonded indebtedness, which stands at $40,424,563,000 as of December 31.

“Transparency has been a hallmark of my administration, and I want the public to see where we are at when it comes to paying off these bonds,” says Comptroller Mendoza. “Sometimes government needs to issue bonds to tackle large expenses, and it’s important to show what progress has been made.”

For example, in November 2017, a few months after the more than two-year budget impasse ended, the state received nearly $6.5 billion in proceeds from its $6 billion General Obligation bond sale to pay off the massive stack of bills that had piled up while the state was without a budget.

Thanks to federal matching funds for the bills Comptroller Mendoza paid off, a total of nearly $9 billion of that $16.7 billion stack of old bills was paid off. The deal brought the interest rate on that debt down from 12% to 3.5%, saving Illinois taxpayers an estimated $4 billion to $6 billion in interest penalties that the bills had been accruing.

The Illinois’ Bond Debt website is just one of many data sets and portals published by the Illinois Office of Comptroller (IOC). Users can also find information on the state’s Rainy Day Fund, how much the state is spending on the care of asylum seekers, how the state spent COVID-19 funds, state employee salaries, state agency spending, revenue coming in and state contracts awarded. Visit: Susana A. Mendoza – Illinois State Comptroller - The Illinois Office of Comptroller

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