Prairie State Wire

A leading credit agency says the State of Illinois' rating will remain the nation's worst, lowest among all 50 states.

New York-based Moody's Investor Service has confirmed that $700 million borrowed in October by Illinois' Gov. J.B. Pritzker's administration will be at rates of between five and six percent. 

Moody's rates Illinois state government a "moderate credit risk," that is "medium grade" with "speculative elements."

In contrast, the State of Florida, which has the highest credit rating of all U.S. states and is seen as most credit trustworthy, has the "highest quality and lowest credit risk." It pays lower interest rates than Illinois.

Due to its massive pension debt and perpetually unbalanced budgets, Illinois' credit rating was downgraded 22 times by the "Big 3" agencies-- Moody's, Fitch and S & P-- between 2009 and 2021, according to an analysis by Wirepoints.com.

The state lost $4.5 billion last year, or about ten percent of its annual budget, according to the audited "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report" published by Pritzker. 

All told, state audits report Illinois currently has $199 billion in total debt, approximately $41,000 per household. 

Moody's estimates Illinois has more debt than it is officially reporting-- a total of $317 billion, or approximately $65,000 per household.

Increased government debt and interest payments is driving higher property taxes in Illinois. 

According to an Illinois Policy Institute analysis, Illinois property owners are paying $2,288 more in property taxes than they were in 2018, when Pritzker took office.

According to its official statement, Pritzker said he will use the $700 million borrowed in October 2022 to fund "pension benefit payments," to "provide funds to finance capital projects" and to pay for interest and costs on the borrowing. It is scheduled to be paid back by the year 2047.

According to Moody's, the purpose of its ratings is to "provide investors with a simple system of gradation by which future relative creditworthiness of securities may be gauged."

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50th of 50 states: Debt, taxes push Illinois' bond rating to near junk levels

Illinois' bond rating remains the worst in the U.S., lower than every other state, according to the "Big 3" agencies S & P, Moody's and Fitch.

AAA is the highest rating available; Only Illinois is currently rated below "A" level by all three agencies.

State	S & P	Moody's	Fitch Ratings
Alabama	AA	Aa1	AA+
Alaska	AA–	Aa3	A+
Arizona	AA	Aa1	—
Arkansas	AA	Aa1	—
California	AA–	Aa2	AA
Colorado	AA	Aa1	—
Connecticut	A	Aa3	AA–
Delaware	AAA	Aaa	AAA
District of Columbia			AA+
Florida	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Georgia	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Hawaii	AA+	Aa2	AA
Idaho	AA+	AAA	AAA
Illinois	BBB+	Baa1	BBB+
Indiana	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Iowa	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Kansas	AA–	Aa2	—
Kentucky	A	Aa3	AA–
Louisiana	AA-	Aa3	AA-
Maine	AA	Aa2	AA
Maryland	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Massachusetts	AA	Aa1	AA+
Michigan	AA	Aa1	AA+
Minnesota	AAA	Aa1	AAA
Mississippi	AA	Aa2	AA
Missouri	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Montana	AA	Aa1	AA+
Nebraska	AAA	[2]	—
Nevada	AA+	Aa1	AA+
New Hampshire	AA	Aa1	AA+
New Jersey	BBB+	A2	A-
New Mexico	AA	Aa2	—
New York	AA+	Aa2	AA+
North Carolina	AAA	Aaa	AAA
North Dakota	AA+	Aa1	—
Ohio	AAA	Aa1	AAA
Oklahoma	AA	Aa2	AA
Oregon	AA+	Aa1	AA+
Pennsylvania	A+	Aa3	AA-
Rhode Island	AA	Aa2	AA
South Carolina	AA+	Aaa	AAA
South Dakota	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Tennessee	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Texas	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Utah	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Vermont	AA+	Aa1	AA+
Virginia	AAA	Aaa	AAA
Washington	AA+	Aaa	AA+
West Virginia	AA-	Aa2	AA
Wisconsin	AA	Aa1	AA+
Wyoming	AA	n/a	—

Source: Wikipedia/S & P, Fitch, Moody's