Trickle-down credit downgrades hit IL Universities.

Moody’s has downgraded the credit ratings of 9 IL universities. Friday’s downgrades affect the University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University. Only Northern Illinois University was able to maintain its rating.

The downgrades reflect the on-going fallout from IL corrupt pension systems with their $100 (Madigan’s number) to $200 billion (Moody’s number) unfunded liability staring IL taxpayers in the face.  According to Moody’s universities are going to either have to pay some portion of their pension cost (which they should have been doing since day one) or they face less funds from the state as it struggles to pay for the pensions. Either way the universities will have much less money to spend and therefore less money to pay for borrowings.

Currently universities have about $2.56 billion in bonds outstanding about 70% of which is tied to U of I.

Wonder why the U’s don’t want to pay for the pensions emanating from their ridiculous salary policy? Because they would be paying for 3 pensions over $400,000, seven pensions over $300,000, 93 pensions over $200,000 and 2,499 pensions over $100.000. Here’s the Top 20: