State successfully sells general obligation bonds for Illinois Jobs Now

[March 15, 2012]  CHICAGO -- The Governor's Office of Management and Budget announced Wednesday the state's successful sale of $575 million in tax-exempt general obligation bonds. The bond sale provides funding for the Illinois Jobs Now capital plan, which was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn and is helping to repair roads, schools and bridges while creating and retaining more than 439,000 jobs over six years.

The state received $2.3 billion in orders from more than 70 institutional purchasers, or over four times the amount of bonds offered for the negotiated sale. This demand allowed the state to increase the amount of bonds sold from $500 million to $575 million while simultaneously achieving an interest rate of 4.19 percent.

"Once again, Illinois was able to sell bonds at very attractive rates to make needed infrastructure investments all across our state that will boost productivity and spur our economy," said David Vaught, director of the Office of Management and Budget. "The sale demonstrates continued investor confidence in the Quinn administration to correct decades of fiscal mismanagement, and investors are anxiously awaiting action from lawmakers to implement changes called for by the governor to control unsustainable Medicaid and pension costs. These changes are necessary to ensure Illinois continues to receive the access to capital markets at the best possible rates for many years to come."

Ramirez & Co. and U.S. Bank Corp. managed the sale. The state was assisted by Public Resources Advisory Group as financial adviser and by Mayer Brown and Charity & Associates P.C. as co-bond counsel. The banks were represented by Shanahan & Shanahan LLP as underwriters counsel.

"We continue to receive historically low rates and are exceptionally pleased with the number of bids and continued strong demand for Illinois paper," said John Sinsheimer, director of capital markets for the Office of Management and Budget.

Closing date for the bonds is set for March 27, 2012. Final maturity is 25 years.

[Text from Office of Management and Budget file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]