Illinois General Obligation Bonds Downgraded

(Springfield, IL) -- There's more bad news for Illinois' credit rating. Standard & Poor's lowered the state's outlook on general obligation bonds to negative. They say the state's latest budget is not structurally balanced and will contribute to growing deficits. The agency also noted that the rating was lowered because of a recent Supreme Court ruling that protects retirement benefits under the state's constitution, which could mean more financial troubles for the state's pension systems.