Illinois Gets New Deputy Debt Director, Mulls Bond Sale

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CHICAGO — Illinois has a new deputy debt director and is mulling a bond deal this year, according to a spokeswoman for Gov. Bruce Rauner.

The state plans to issue bonds at some point during 2015, according to Catherine Kelly. The state last year issued a total of $3.4 billion of debt, with the last sale coming in May 2014.

The governor is "being cautious about bond sales at this time," Kelly said in an email. Illinois "does expect to sell some bonds this year" but is not ready now to announce amounts or sale dates, she said.

In related news, Rauner has hired a new deputy debt manager.

Alexi Sturm joins the Office and Budget Management as deputy director for debt and capital. She comes from the Illinois Comptroller's Office, where she was research and fiscal reporting director.

Sturm is one of the office's "new deputy directors whose responsibilities include debt and capital," Kelly said in an email Wednesday. "She started yesterday."

The budget office still does not have a debt director. Sturm is now covering the duties of that job and as well as also overseeing revenue analysis and some agencies' budgets, according to Kelly.

John Sinsheimer, the state's most recent capital markets director, left in February after six years in the position.

The new administration had asked Sinsheimer to stay on in the role but wanted him to relocate to Springfield from Chicago and he decided instead to pursue other opportunities, sources said at the time.

Rauner's administration initially named Office of Management and Budget general counsel Kim Fowler to temporarily replace Sinsheimer and then later elevated Jessica Akey, a deputy debt director under Sinsheimer, to the post.

Akey announced in July she was leaving the state to join Standard & Poor's.

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