Back in July, the state of Illinois narrowly avoided a junk bond rating with a last minute budget deal that included a 32% in hike in income taxes. Republican Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed the budget and called it a “disaster,” but both houses of the state legislature voted to override his veto. Meanwhile, S&P and Moody’s were apparently both convinced that the budget deal was sufficient for the state to remain an investment grade credit and all lived happily ever after, if just for a few months. Per CNN:
Illinois narrowly avoided becoming the first U. S. state ever slapped with a “junk” credit rating from S&P Global Ratings after it passed its first budget in more than two years.
The ratings firm removed the threat of an imminent downgrade for the fifth most populous state in the country on Wednesday, ruling that the Illinois budget deal has lowered the risk of a “liquidity crisis.” Now the state is rated one-notch above “junk” territory, and S&P said the odds of a downgrade within the next year have “substantially diminished.”
This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 19, 2017.
Follow on Twitter
Recent Comments