City of Chicago issued the following announcement on Nov. 28.
“Today’s ratings by S&P, Fitch and Kroll confirm from independent financial stakeholders that the City of Chicago is moving in the right direction by addressing our urgent financial challenges today while making necessary structural investments to ensure stability for our communities in the future. Our 2020 budget supports new investments, which speaks to our values as a City, maintains quality services our residents can depend on, and does everything to prevent hard-working Chicagoans from bearing the burden as we strive to put our City's finances back on track. This budget lives up to the commitment we made six months ago to begin the work of restoring a city that is more transparent, equitable and prosperous, serving every community and resident in Chicago. And, we’ve done it without imposing a large property tax increase or receiving a downgrade by the rating agencies—a remarkable feat given the historic proportions of the $838 million shortfall we faced.
“S&P has specifically noted in their report: 'The stable outlook over the one-year horizon reflects our expectation that Chicago will make incremental progress toward executing its three-year plan to structural balance.Should the city execute its three-year plan to structural balance, including funding all pension plans on an actuarially based statutory payments basis, we would consider it a significant step in the right direction.'
“As these independent financial stakeholders have affirmed, today the City has established a responsible budget for 2020 that puts us in a much stronger position to continue meeting our obligations to taxpayers and strengthening our communities for the future.”
Original source can be found here.
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