[BLOOMBERG] Cook County, home to reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,...
, had the rating on $3.7 billion of general-obligation bonds cut one level to A1 by Moodys Investors Service because it faces formidable hurdles in fixing its pension system.
The county of 5.2 million, the second-most-populous in the U.S., is the latest issuer in Illinois to have its rating cut by Moodys. The rating company reduced the states rank in June to A3, and last month dropped Chicagos grade three steps to A3. The outlook on all three is negative.
Cook Countys downgrade reflects the formidable hurdles facing the county in its quest to pursue meaningful pension reform, Moodys said today in a statement. Changes to the systems must be enacted by the state, which is faced with its own legislative paralysis, the company said.
Illinois politicians failed to restructure pensions saddled with almost $100 billion in unfunded liabilities before the legislative session ended May 31. They also didnt act in special sessions called by Democratic Governor Pat Quinn in June and July.
Illinoiss five state pension systems had 43 percent of assets needed to cover obligations in fiscal 2011, the lowest ratio among U.S. states, Bloomberg data show. Quinn, 64, has said finding a fix has confounded legislatures and governors for 70 years.
Todays downgrade is the direct result of the pension crisis we face and our inability to act without state legislation, Owen Kilmer, a front man for County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, said in an e-mailed statement. We will continue to be negatively affected by the states lack of attention to local pension funds.
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