School funding is locked up due to the current fight in Springfield over the state’s new education funding formula and the bailout of Chicago Public Schools it contains.

Many reforms are still needed in Illinois higher education system despite credit rating affirmations and upgrades to seven Illinois universities.

Of the three major ratings agencies, only Moody’s Investors Service has indicated that Illinois lawmakers’ lack of long-term solutions for reducing that debt is a severe problem.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel expressed little concern over Moody’s Investors Service’s announcement that it might downgrade Chicago’s already-junk-rated bonds over CPS budget problems.

Illinois’ bond rating may not be junk, but the state’s finances still are.

Tax hikes on struggling Illinoisans as the state is bordering on a recession, a lack of structural spending reforms, no true pension reform, $100 million in pork spending, and the continued threat of a junk credit rating are among the ways the new Illinois budget fails taxpayers.

Though the Illinois House of Representatives appears close to overriding Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a tax hike budget plan, and thereby ending Illinois’ more than two years without a full-year budget, Moody’s Investors Service has said it might still downgrade the state’s credit, largely due to Illinois’ unsustainable debt.

Moody’s Investors Service said simply passing a budget won’t be enough to avoid junk because it doesn’t address Illinois’ many crises.

Illinois’ bonds are currently priced like they are junk-rated.

Illinois’ credit rating spirals downward while residents flee to surrounding states with stronger economies and lower taxes.