Illinois

Illinois spreads tightened considerably after ratings upgrades earlier this year. The state saw up to 10 bidders on $875 million of taxable and tax-exempt GOs.

The city has made some important progress on the expenditure side, but the new mayor's first budget didn't make similar strides on revenues, according to Fitch.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $1 billion.

The upgrade brings Illinois up to the A-minus level across the board. The state had three BBB-minus or equivalent ratings as recently as July 2021.

October's total volume rose 29.3% to $37.156 billion in 661 issues from $28.738 billion in 614 issues a year earlier. New-money grew more than 30% while refundings were up by nearly 75%.

The whistleblower who brought the case, Minnesota-based municipal advisor Johan Rosenberg, will receive $14.4 million under the deal.

The Board of Education enters the market with two speculative grade ratings and one investment grade after affirmations from the agencies across the board.

Surpassing $150 million in total investments, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Arizona and Georgia have joined Florida, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties and Miami Beach in supporting Israel financially in the wake of the deadly terror attacks by Hamas.

The proposed spending plan includes the first chunk of money from the city's new casino, which will support underfunded police and fire pensions.

The total unfunded pension liability for all 50 states is expected to be $1.3 trillion for fiscal 2023, according to a Reason Foundation analysis.