SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Continuing pension problems and government gridlock earned Illinois another reduction in its credit rating Wednesday.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered Illinois' rating a notch because of "weak pension funding levels and lack of action on reform measures." The firm also said the financial outlook for Illinois is negative, in part because the state's temporary income tax is scheduled to expire in 2015.

Lower ratings can raise the interest rate Illinois must pay when borrowing money.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.