Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded debt ratings on seven public universities in Illinois, according to an Associated Press report
. The University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University were all downgraded.
Only Northern Illinois University was able to maintain its rating.
The downgrades affect a combined $2.24 billion in debt, but most of that belongs to the University of Illinois, which has $1.56 billion in debt and is preparing to a $77 million bond sale in order to pay for renovation project at its hospital in Chicago. The University of Illinois rating declined from Aa2 to Aa3.
In separate research notes, Moody’s attributed its decisions on schools’ revenue from the state. Illinois now has the lowest credit rating of any state in the country, largely because of its unpaid bills and $100 billion in unfunded retirement plans for state employees.
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