January 11, 2012
Governor vows to take on pension reform to boost credit rating
Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday sought to ease concerns about a recent downgrade in the state's bond rating that cemented Illinois as the state with the nation's worst credit rating, saying he will push for major pension reforms this year to try to reverse it.
Quinn's comments came just days after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the state's rating from A1 to A2. The change "follows a legislative session in which the state took no steps to implement lasting solutions to its severe pension underfunding or to its chronic bill payment delays," Moody's said in its report.
The Democratic governor noted that Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings did not lower their ratings of the state's debt — they rank California as worst in the nation, with Illinois one notch above — but Quinn acknowledged the state's ranking should be improving after last year's income tax increase, not getting downgraded...
LINK - ChicagoTribune.com
