Illinois Tollway reports modest revenue gains in Q3 and details $500 million bond sale, seeks refunding authorization

Kathy Williams, the Illinois Tollway’s chief financial officer, told the Finance & Audit Committee on Nov. 20 that preliminary, unaudited results for the third quarter of 2025 show year‑to‑date revenue modestly ahead of budget and continued growth in toll collections compared with 2024.

Williams said year‑to‑date revenue was '9,000,000,' which she described as 0.7% above budget, and reported that operating expenditures were roughly $27,000,000 (about 7.6%) below budget largely because of open positions and timing of contractual services. She told directors that capital spending remains below plan overall, driven by timing delays on several large projects in the Move Illinois program.

The finance update was followed by a market report from Michael McIntyre, the Tollway’s debt manager, who said the agency sold $500,000,000 of Series 2025A toll highway revenue bonds on Nov. 4. McIntyre described the sale as the twelfth new‑money issuance for Move Illinois, bringing total borrowing for the program to $5,300,000,000 to date, with roughly $1 billion of additional bonds projected to be issued over the next 18 months. He said all three major rating agencies confirmed double‑A‑minus ratings with stable outlooks and that pricing produced yields of about 4.14% to the bonds’ 10‑year call and about 4.5% to final maturity in 2047.

Williams also asked the board to authorize staff to pursue refunding bonds in 2026 'up to $1,030,000,000' of outstanding 2015B, 2016A and 2016B issues that will become callable next year. She said any issuance would depend on market conditions and that staff and advisors will determine the timing to go to market to capture debt-service savings. As housekeeping tied to trust‑indenture requirements, staff recommended amending the previously authorized 'improvement requirement' figure from $9.9 billion to $13.1 billion so it aligns with current Move Illinois authorizations; Williams emphasized the change is a technical update and 'not a request for funding increase.'

Directors asked whether the competitive bond sale approach was a change in practice; McIntyre said the competitive sale provided additional market information, produced a tight range of bids and tightened the Tollway’s credit spreads by roughly 30 basis points, signaling favorable investor demand. The committee moved to place the finance items on the full board agenda, and the board subsequently approved the finance items by voice vote.

The board’s action authorizes staff to pursue refunding transactions subject to market conditions and accepted the report on the completed Series 2025A sale. The refunding authorization, if executed, will be coordinated with outside financial advisors and is intended to achieve debt-service savings.