|
 "I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get something done there'll
be more of it. It's highly appropriate," he told reporters a day
after the ratings on Chicago convention center bonds were severely
downgraded as a result of the stalemate between Rauner and Democrats
who control the state legislature.
The Republican governor, who took office in January, said he did not
cause the fiscal problems engulfing the state and Chicago, its
largest city, but he intends to fix them. He added the solution is
reforming government, not higher taxes.
Illinois' chronic budget deficits and big pension funding problems
have left it with the lowest credit ratings and highest borrowing
costs among the 50 states.
 Standard & Poor's warned last month it could take action on
Illinois' A-minus rating by September if "there is limited progress
in budget deliberations or if credit fundamentals weaken." S&P has
dropped only three states into the low-investment grade triple-B
level: California in 2003, Massachusetts in 1989 and Louisiana in
1988.
On Wednesday, S&P and Fitch Ratings downgraded more than $3 billion
of bonds issued by Chicago's Metropolitan Pier and Exposition
Authority by several notches to BBB-plus because the lack of a state
appropriation blocked a monthly transfer of tax revenue to the bond
trustee.
[to top of second column] |
Rauner continued to blast Democrats and House Speaker Michael
Madigan for resisting his so-called turnaround agenda, which
includes legislative term limits, a local property tax freeze
coupled with curbs on collective bargaining, and business-friendly
reforms. He said he is willing to support measures to rescue the
Chicago Public Schools from crippling pension payments if city
officials, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, throw their support behind
his reform agenda.
"This has got to be a two-way partnership," Rauner said.
(Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
