Well DUH ! Fitch Downgrades Illinois' Credit Rating in the Wake of Legislature's Failure to Address Pension Debt

On Monday afternoon, Fitch downgraded Illinois credit rating. 

This is from their website: 

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the rating on $27.5 billion in outstanding Illinois general obligation (GO) bonds to 'A-' from 'A' with a Negative Rating Outlook. The downgrade reflects the ongoing inability of the state to address its large and growing unfunded pension liability, most recently through the failure to pass pension reform. The agency believes the burden of large unfunded pension liabilities and growing annual pension expenses is unsustainable.

           Gov Quinn had this to say in a statement.... 

“Today’s downgrade is no surprise. As I have repeatedly made clear to the General Assembly, this will continue to happen until legislators pass a comprehensive pension reform bill, and put it on my desk.

“Every time the General Assembly misses the deadline, Illinois’ credit rating is downgraded, which hurts our economy, wastes taxpayer dollars and shortchanges the education of our children.

“If I could issue an Executive Order to resolve the pension crisis, I would have done it a long time ago. But I cannot act alone. Legislators must send me a bill to get this job done.

“I plan to meet with the Speaker of the House and the Senate President tomorrow.

“I will keep fighting for pension reform until it is the law of the land.”

House GOP Leader Tom Cross issued the following statement.......

“Today’s downgrade should not serve as a surprise—this has happened nearly every time we’ve left Springfield without a comprehensive pension solution.  We have pushed from every angle to make sure legislation lands on the Governor’s desk.  At the moment, democrat legislative leaders appear to have a disagreement on how we should proceed.  We need to get it done.”