Board of Education of the City of Chicago, IL – G.O. Rating Report

Rating Summary

The Negative Outlook for the Board of Education of the City of Chicago (the “District”) General Obligation Bonds (GO Bonds) continues to reflect KBRA’s view of what remain pronounced financial pressures including a larger than budgeted reliance on reserves in estimated FY 2026; tightly constrained liquidity and heavy reliance on cashflow borrowing; reliance on uncertain revenues in the enacted FY 2027 budget; and, a heavy fixed-cost burden. The ratings may be lowered should the District identify substantially weaker than currently estimated operating results for FY 2026, significant revenue shortfalls in FY 2027 requiring difficult to implement mid-year budget solutions, and/or intensified liquidity pressure due to the loss of market access for short term borrowing or other unanticipated challenges that further compromise already strained flexibility.

Low-investment grade ratings currently reflect KBRA’s expectation that despite persistent fiscal challenges, the District…