Illinois S&P Rating is Worst in the Nation
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford says poor credit rating will cost taxpayers.
Standard & Poor’s rating services downgraded Illinois’ credit rating today to A-, with a negative outlook, making it the lowest rating of all 50 states. State Treasurer Dan Rutherford blamed the negative rating on inaction on the public pension system by Gov. Pat Quinn and the general assembly, at a press conference today. Illinois has a $96 billion pension deficit. Rutherford pointed out numerous instances in which the state had set a deadline to address pension reform and did not meet the deadline, which was followed by a downgrade in the state’s credit rating. “Every time a deadline is set and nothing happens substantively, there is a negative action by rating agencies, Rutherford said. Rutherford explained that the poor credit rating …
John Parker
9:16 pm on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The 630 educators who retired from District 211 (Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine) averaged pension payments of $86,982 last year, almost twice the state average, according to records from the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System. To put this in context, the total pension debt-per-household in Suburban North West Cook County is $35,774 more ›