State holds off selling bond
Updated: January 31, 2013
SPRINGFIELD -- The state has decided not to sell one of its bonds because of the latest credit downgrade. A bond is just like a loan. They are used to pay for all kinds of things.
For example, if the state wanted to build a new highway, it would sell a bond to help finance that project. It's not as easy as it used to be thanks to the credit downgrade. Illinois now has the worst rating in the entire nation.
So what does this mean for taxpayers? The state
now owes more and has less to spend. As a result, other parts of the budget are
losing out like hospitals, schools and infrastructure.
Credit
agencies say there's an easy way to bring the state's credit rating back up; fix the pension crisis. It has an unfunded liability of nearly $100 billion. That's how much Illinois will eventually owe.
