Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 10/31/2016: State of Illinois General Obligation – $480 Million
This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Illinois. Illinois is scheduled to issue $480 million in General Obligation Bonds the week of October 31, 2016. These bonds are scheduled to be issued as a single series, and their purpose is to fund capital projects. Security for the bonds is a direct general obligation, pledging the full faith and credit of the State. The official statement references several investment considerations of the financial condition of the state, including the state’s budget impasse, reduction of income tax rates, and severe underfunding of state retirement systems. These details and more on purposes, security, and other matters pertaining to these Illinois general obligation bonds can the found in the official statement, provided by MuniOS.
As of September 2016, the State of Illinois has an unemployment rate of 5.4%, which is 0.1% higher than at the same time in 2015, and 0.4% higher than the current national rate.
Provided at left is a quick snapshot of financial characteristics of the State of Illinois, along with the medians for other states, courtesy of Merritt Research Services, LLC. Merritt has many of the sector medians publicly available and regularly updated on their Benchmark Central page. (Merritt believes the data to be reliable but does not make any representations as to its accuracy or completeness). In addition to the Merritt information related to the featured bond, more information can be found on our municipal bond calendar, city, state, and county pages, and our employment database. These facts and numbers are for informational purposes, and should not be considered an official disclosure for potential investors. Investors should consult the official statement. None of the information provided should be construed as a recommendation by MuniNet Guide, MuniNet LLC, Merritt Research Services LLC, or any of their employees. Information and analysis is for informational purposes only.