Question

Find a recent article from any Illinois municipality or county discussing some type of debt issuance or restructuring. Discuss why it was done, structure of the debt, details on their credit rating, source for repayment, etc.

Answer 1

The article being referenced here talks about the bonds issued by municipality of Chicago (within the state of Illinois). The quantum of bond issue – which started in December 2017 – will stand at around $575 million and holds a credit rating of AAA.

This debt issuance was done to refinance a part of $3 billion of debt that remains outstanding. The structure of debt consists entirely of investment-grade-rated bonds. With regards to their credit ratings Fitch has assigned a rating of AAA and S&P Global Ratings has assigned the bonds a rating of AA.

The primary source of repayment will be the share of sales-tax revenue that Chicago receives from the state of Illinois. This will ensure that bondholders are free from any financial risks that Chicago is exposed to in the future.

APA citation:

Campbell, E. (2017, December 5). Chicago issues AAA-rated debt despite city’s junk-rating. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-05/chicago-tests-bond-market-alchemy-with-debut-of-aaa-rated-debt