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Moody's upgrades Illinois' credit rating for second time in a year

By FOX 32 News
Published  April 21, 2022 5:05pm CDT
Illinois
FOX 32 Chicago

Moody's upgrades Illinois' credit rating for 2nd time in a year

For the second time in a year, the credit agency Moody's bumped the state's debt rating up a notch.

CHICAGO - Illinois is on a ratings roll.

For the second time in a year, the credit agency Moody's bumped the state's debt rating up a notch. It's a big improvement from last June, when the state teetered on the brink of "junk status."

Moody's says the upgrade was due to the state’s revenue growth over the past year and its increased contributions to is pension system, which has the state's largest financial liability.

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Governor JB Pritzker is taking a victory lap.

"Illinois was in a deep hole in the years before I was sworn into the governorship, and together with the General Assembly, step by step, we are putting Illinois on firm fiscal footing," Pritzker said. "A credit upgrade means Illinois will likely pay a lower interest rate, saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years."

Illinois still has a lot of work to be done financially.

Moody's notes the state still has a lot of long-term debt and the state’s economy is growing at a slower pace than the national average.