Capital Facts

As I write this, two of the three national credit rating agencies have upgraded the State of Illinois’ rating in a week’s time. And the only remaining holdout owes us one. Bigtime.
As you know, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded its Illinois rating by a notch in late June and S&P Global Ratings followed suit on July 8. Fitch Ratings is the only one left.
Back in April of 2020, when the pandemic was gripping the world, Fitch downgraded Illinois’ credit rating – the only credit downgrade Illinois has received since Bruce Rauner’s days as governor.

Last week, I asked the spokespersons for all four state legislative caucus leaders if they considered the spring session’s COVID protocols in their respective chambers to be a success. I didn’t think I’d get much in the way of a newsworthy response, but I actually did.
Jaclyn Driscoll was a Missouri Statehouse reporter before she was hired as House Speaker Chris Welch’s spokesperson this spring. Driscoll also covered the Illinois Statehouse before moving to Missouri.

On Nov. 19 of last year, the number of Illinois House Democrats who had publicly stated they would not vote to reelect Speaker Michael Madigan grew from 12 to 17, meaning that Madigan at that point did not have enough votes to win. By Dec. 1, two more House Democrats, including a member of Madigan's own leadership team, had turned against him. "The 19" became a real force in Illinois politics.

When reading last week's indictment of Tim Mapes, it's important to remember that federal prosecutors have been trying to prove that his old boss, former House Speaker Michael Madigan, was directing the effort to allegedly "bribe" him with favors.
Madigan's longtime chief of staff was indicted May 26 for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury and attempting to obstruct the grand jury's corruption investigation.