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Cook County bond refinancing expected to save $56.6 million

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Thursday that a bond refinancing priced this week will garner $56.6 million in savings on interest payments over the next 15 years, when measured in today's dollars.

The refinancing generated intense interest from more than 50 institutional investors across the country following recent positive outlooks for the county from the three major bond rating agencies, according to the county. The agencies highlighted the county's strong management and willingness to confront its fiscal challenges when upgrading its rating outlook to stable last week.

With this week's sale, the market cut the county's credit spread in half from its peak a year ago, leading to $23.5 million of the $56.6 million in reduced interest costs from the refinancing. The remaining savings were generated by market timing, as the county priced its offering during a week when the 10-year tax exempt municipal benchmark hit the second lowest value on record.

"Refinancing these bonds was a fiscally prudent measure that will provide important savings to Cook County," Preckwinkle said in a news release. "Through our efforts to promote fiscal responsibility and the resulting interest from the bond market, we were able to save millions on interest costs and better manage our legacy debt."

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