Cook County officials told the board on Sept. 17 that Moody’s Investor Services upgraded the county’s general obligation rating and the board approved a new federal grant risk-mitigation fund intended to protect essential county programs from sudden federal funding cuts.

Deputy CFO Dean Constantino presented Moody’s decision to raise the county’s rating from A1 to AA3, citing improved fiscal management and the county’s financial position. "Based on that analysis and based on the good work that this board has done ... they decided that they were going to upgrade our general obligation debt from A1 to AA3," Constantino said.

Treasury and budget officials also described and the board approved a proposed "federal grant risk mitigation fund," which county CFO Tanya Anthony said would identify recurring federal grants that support essential programs and provide county funds if a federal source were canceled prior to its scheduled expiration. Anthony said the board will receive an annual report identifying any grants the fund supported.

Board members discussed a municipal bridge loan program to help local taxing jurisdictions manage cash-flow shortfalls caused by late tax receipts. County officials described a program modeled on a 2022 initiative and said the county would again seek capacity to provide tax anticipation loans, noting the requested loan pool and cap mirrored the 2022 request and that total loan capacity discussed was $300 million. Tanya Anthony and Deputy CFO Dean Constantino told commissioners the county will evaluate local jurisdictions for eligibility based on bond ratings, cash-on-hand and historical collection rates and will provide technical assistance to applicants.

Commissioners asked for transparency about applicants and awards. Commissioner Gaynor requested that the county report back with which taxing jurisdictions apply and which loans are approved; county staff said they would provide a running list and notify the board when agreements are finalized.

At the meeting the board voted to create the federal grant risk mitigation fund and took procedural steps to authorize the bridge-loan mechanism; staff said further work and formal agreements with individual jurisdictions would follow and that each municipality must obtain local approvals before receiving a county loan.