Stable outlook applies to current issue and $32.8 billion of rated debt
New York, August 24, 2012 --
Moody's Rating
Issue: General Obligation Bonds, Series of September 2012;
Rating: A2; Sale Amount: $50,000,000;
Expected Sale Date: 9/13/2012; Rating Description: General
Obligation
Opinion
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a rating of A2 to the State of
Illinois' planned $50 million issuance of General Obligation Bonds
Series of September 2012. Proceeds of the issue will fund information
technology investments. The bonds are tentatively scheduled for
a competitive sale on September 13.
SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE
Illinois' general obligation bond rating was lowered to A2 from A1 on
January 6 because of the state's failure last year to implement solutions
to its largest credit challenges: severe pension under-funding
and chronic bill-payment delays. It remains to be seen whether
the state has the political will to impose new pension reforms and other
measures that restore fiscal strength in the near term. The stable
outlook acknowledges an ability to reach consensus on difficult decisions,
such as temporary tax increases enacted early in 2011 that allowed Illinois
to end reliance on deficit bonds to finance annual pension contributions.
Sovereign revenue and spending powers, as well as state legal provisions
giving payment of G.O. debt service priority over other
expenditures, also help support Illinois' stable outlook.
STRENGTHS
-- Sovereign powers over revenue and spending
-- Statutory provisions giving priority to debt service
over other state expenditures
CHALLENGES
-- Severe pension funding shortfall
-- Chronic use of payment deferrals to manage operating
fund cash
-- Weak management practices reflected in pension under-funding
and bill payment delays
OUTLOOK
The state's stable outlook reflects its sovereign powers over revenue
and spending, as well as statutory provisions establishing priority
of payment for G.O. debt service. The likelihood
of near-term progress addressing major credit challenges appears
modest at present, but the stable outlook is partly based on the
state's demonstrated ability to reach consensus on politically difficult
issues.
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO UP
- Implementation of a credible, comprehensive long-term
pension funding plan
- Substantial progress in reducing payment backlog, with
adoption of a legal framework or plan to prevent renewed buildup of bills
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO DOWN
- Early phase-out of 2011 tax increases without offsetting
binding expenditure actions, increasing the structural gap
- Further deterioration in pension funded status or failure to
make legally required pension contributions in full
The principal methodology used in this rating was Moody's State Rating
Methodology published in November 2004. Please see the Credit Policy
page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
The Global Scale Credit Ratings on this press release that are issued
by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU are endorsed by Moody's
Investors Service Ltd., One Canada Square, Canary Wharf,
London E 14 5FA, UK, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's
office that has issued a particular Credit Rating is available on www.moodys.com.
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
Information sources used to prepare the rating are the following:
parties involved in the ratings, public information, confidential
and proprietary Moody's Investors Service's information,
and confidential and proprietary Moody's Analytics' information.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated
entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing
a rating.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it
uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's
considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent
third-party sources. However, Moody's is not
an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate
information received in the rating process.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for general disclosure on potential conflicts of interests.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%) and
for (B) further information regarding certain affiliations that may exist
between directors of MCO and rated entities as well as (C) the names of
entities that hold ratings from MIS that have also publicly reported to
the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%. A
member of the board of directors of this rated entity may also be a member
of the board of directors of a shareholder of Moody's Corporation;
however, Moody's has not independently verified this matter.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating Process
page on www.moodys.com for further information on the meaning
of each rating category and the definition of default and recovery.
Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for the last rating action and the rating history.
The date on which some ratings were first released goes back to a time
before Moody's ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not
be available. Consequently, Moody's provides a date that
it believes is the most reliable and accurate based on the information
that is available to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page
on our website www.moodys.com for further information.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Edward Hampton
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Public Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Nicholas E Samuels
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Public Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's assigns A2 rating to State of Illinois' planned $50 million issuance of General Obligation Bonds, Series of September 2012