Illinois Legislative News: August 31, 2026
Third Reading Consulting Group
Moody’s Upgrades Illinois’ Credit Rating to A1
On August 26, Moody's Ratings upgraded Illinois' general obligation (GO) bond and Build Illinois sales tax bond rating from A2 to A1 with a stable outlook. The upgrade follows a series of meetings during the week of August 17 between the Pritzker administration and all three major credit rating agencies ahead of the state's next GO bond sale, planned for late September. This marks the highest credit rating received by the state from Moody's since December 2011. Following the two-year budget impasse under then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois' bond rating had fallen to just one notch above junk status. Since June 2021, the state has received 11 consecutive credit rating upgrades under Gov. JB Pritzker.
Moody's described the upgrade as driven by “realized and expected continued improvement in the state's financial metrics.” The rating agency cited governance as a key factor for the upgrade, noting that eight consecutive on-time balanced budgets and consistently conservative fiscal management have led to solid reserves and increased confidence in the state's ability to navigate future budget pressures. The upgrade also reflects the elimination of the state's bill backlog, growth of the rainy-day fund to over $2.5B, and the recent extension of the state's pension buyout program through FY 2028.
Gov. Pritzker stated, "Moody's latest upgrade returns Illinois to its highest rating in nearly 15 years and reflects the tremendous financial progress we have made since taking office. With the General Assembly as a committed governing partner, we have moved Illinois from years of fiscal instability to its strongest financial position in decades."
Despite all the recent progress, Illinois continues to have the lowest bond rating of any state in the country. The next-closest state is New Jersey, which is rated A+ by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings and Aa3 by Moody's — one notch above Illinois by Moody’s and two notches above Illinois by S&P and Fitch. Moody's pointed to the state's high fixed costs as reason not to rate Illinois higher at this time, driven by large unfunded pension liabilities, a constitutional prohibition preventing the reduction of pension benefits, and ever-growing annual education and healthcare spending. These high fixed costs make Illinois particularly susceptible to changes in economic conditions. Even though the state has grown a rainy-day fund from nothing, current reserves still represent less than 5% of the state’s estimated FY 2027 budget revenues.
Notably, Moody's A1 rating now sits two notches above where S&P and Fitch rate Illinois GO bonds. S&P last upgraded Illinois’ bond rating from BBB+ to A- in February 2023, and Fitch last upgraded also from BBB+ to A- in November 2023. Both agencies currently maintain Illinois’ GO bonds at A- with a stable outlook, the equivalent of A3 on Moody's scale.
NITA Board Appointments
Public Act 104-457, signed into law in December 2025, creates The Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act. The Act is a comprehensive transit reform package creating a new regional authority, NITA, to replace the outgoing Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)’s oversight of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra Commuter Rail, and Pace Suburban Bus. It provides approximately $1.5B annually for transit and associated infrastructure, including capital projects and tollways statewide, largely funded through redirected revenues and board-approved regional taxing authority. In 2026, the General Assembly passed and Gov. Pritzker signed Public Act 104-543 as a trailer to the original NITA Act, making a variety of changes to clean up language and correct discrepancies.
NITA will assume certain individual service-board functions (budgeting, scheduling, capital planning) and work to unify services, ticketing, and safety across the entire regional network. Across the entire network, NITA aims to improve service, address budget deficits, avoid fare increases, and better connect northeastern Illinois region. Beyond the Chicago area, the NITA Act will provide millions in new funding for downstate transportation agencies.
NITA’s 20-member board takes effect September 1, 2026, with its first meeting scheduled for September 10. 17 members will serve on both the NITA board and one of the individual service boards. See below for the full list of board appointments.
Governor Pritzker’s Appointees (pending Illinois State Senate confirmation):
- Bashir Qaasim — NITA & Metra Boards; Vice President at The Whole Group
- Nedra Sims Fears — NITA & CTA Boards; Executive Director of The Greater Chatham Initiative
- Nirali Shah — NITA Board; Senior Director of Procurement and Culture, Impact, and Opportunity at the Obama Foundation
- Rosa Ortiz — NITA & Pace Boards; urban planner and founder of 3e. Studio
- Vanessa Uribe — NITA Board; Associate Vice President for People and Operations at The Chicago Community Trust
Mayor Johnson's Appointees (approved by City Council):
- Lester Barclay — NITA & CTA Boards; attorney and current CTA Board Chair
- Oswaldo Alvarez — NITA & CTA Boards; Executive Director of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation
- Dennis Mondero — NITA & Metra Boards; former Executive Director of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association
- Natasha Jenkins — NITA & Pace Boards; Senior Attorney at Clark Hill PLC
- Dee Atkins — NITA Board; Chief of Community Engagement and Equity at Thresholds
Cook County Board President Preckwinkle's Appointees (approved by Cook County Board):
- Thomas Kotarac — NITA & CTA Boards; Senior Vice President of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago
- Diane Williams — NITA & Metra Boards; former President of the Safer Foundation
- Rory Hoskins — NITA & Pace Boards; Mayor of the Village of Forest Park
- Romayne Brown — NITA & Metra Boards; former CTA Vice President of Rail Operations
- Luis Montgomery — NITA & Pace Boards; transportation and infrastructure consultant at MacKay
Collar County Appointees (approved by respective county boards):
- DuPage County, David Pileski — NITA & Pace Boards; DuPage County; Mayor of Roselle
- Kane County, Brian Dahl – NITA & Pace Boards; former County Board member and President of the Fox Valley Building and Construction Trades Council
- Lake County, Gary Gorndon — NITA & Metra Boards; Lake County; Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at the Shedd Aquarium
- McHenry County, Brian Sager – NITA & Metra Boards; former Mayor of Woodstock
- Will County, John Noak — NITA & Pace Boards; Mayor of Romeoville
On Tuesday, August 25, at its final meeting before NITA assumes oversight on September 1, the RTA Board approved its 2027 projected operating funding totaling just over $4B. All three service providers received significant year-over-year funding increases, with CTA receiving over $2B in funding (up 29.6%); Metra receiving $943M (up 37.6%); and Pace receiving $335M (up 19.9%). An additional $2.1B is projected to be spent on capital projects in 2027. NITA will open its budget process with public engagement in September. Service boards must submit proposals by October 2, with a final adoption vote scheduled for December 10.
Bill Action Update
As of Wednesday, August 27, Gov. JB Pritzker had signed every bill passed in the 2026 regular session of the Illinois General Assembly into law.
Important Upcoming Dates – Statewide
November 3 – Illinois General Election
November 17-19 – Veto Session Week 1
December 1-3 – Veto Session Week 2