Honestly rating Illinois’ credit health

How do credit rating agencies upgrade the state’s credit without audited financials being released by Illinois? Our state has received nine credit upgrades since 2021, frequently occurring before the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) is issued. The report for the year ended June 30, 2023, has yet to be issued as of this writing.

The report routinely is released over a year following the end of the June 30 fiscal year end. The Illinois Office of Comptroller (IOC) is required by statute to publish the report by Dec. 31 following the June 30 fiscal year end. To circumvent the law, IOS issues an interim report consisting of five pages of highlights noting the report is subject to audit. The full report has been approaching 400 pages.

So, what is the bottleneck? Our comptroller cannot publish the report until the auditor general is able to complete over eighty state agency audits. Are the delays centered in the auditor general’s office? If so, why doesn’t the comptroller hold the auditor general accountable? If not the auditor general, why doesn’t the auditor general identify what agency or agencies are causing the delays and why?

How do legislators approve budgets when there is a lag in reliable financial reporting in excess of a year? Have credit rating agencies considered deferring credit upgrades on new State debt issues until financial transparency is provided by Illinois? Are fees on new debt issues more important to the credit rating agencies?

The annual report for the year ended June 30, 2022, was issued Aug. 15, 2023. Do you think the report for June 30, 2023, will be issued before Illinois hosts the Democratic National Convention?

Mike Tennis

Sleepy Hollow