Moody’s Upgrades Illinois Bond Rating, Following S&P Action in February

Moody’s Investor Service has upgraded Illinois general obligation bonds to A3 (stable outlook), the second major rating agency to return Illinois’ credit to the “A” category. The move follows S&P Global Ratings’ upgrade to A- for Illinois bonds last month, its third upgrade of Illinois’ bonds since 2021. 

“This credit upgrade, our second one this year, is the result of the steps we’ve taken in Illinois to put ourselves on firm fiscal footing,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “We have balanced our budget, paid our bills on time, cleared out decades of debt, made extra pension payments, and saved billions for a rainy day.” 

However, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Moody’s said Illinois’ fiscal challenges, including fixed-cost burdens, will “remain in place for some time.” Moody’s also noted that Illinois’ economic expansion has been slower than some other states’ and was likely to continue lagging “given a weak population trend.” 

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