Thursday, July 8, 2021
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois State Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza issued the following statement regarding the latest credit update for the State of Illinois:
“S&P’s upgrade of the state’s credit rating is further evidence that Illinois is moving in the right direction. Upgrades are good news because they mean lower costs for taxpayers on the bonds that we use to build roads, bridges, schools and other projects. A top priority of mine as comptroller has been paying down the state’s bill backlog, knowing that credit rating agencies would recognize our hard work. From a high of $16.7 billion during the prior administration’s budget impasse, that backlog is down to $2.9 billion today.
“As the state comptroller, my priority continues to be managing the state’s bill backlog and providing evidence to the credit rating agencies that Illinois is an excellent investment and is on a path to financial stability and certainty.”
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In the attached letter Comptroller Mendoza sent S&P and the other rating agencies last week, she laid out a case for a rating improvement given the hard work she, Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly have done to improve Illinois’ finances, including lowering the backlog and paying down the state’s short-term debts more quickly than projected.
