Loop Serves as Bookrunner for the State of Illinois’ $1.2 Billion General Obligation Bonds, Series of April 2026ABC

On March 24-26th, 2026, Loop Capital Markets (“Loop” or the “Firm”) served as Bookrunning Senior Manager on the State of Illinois’ (the “State”) $1.2 billion General Obligation Bonds Taxable Series of April 2026A (the “Taxable Bonds”), Series of April 2026B and Series of April 2026C (the “Tax-Exempt Bonds”). The financing was rated A2 (Stable), A- (Stable), and A- (Stable) by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, respectively. Proceeds will be used to fund accelerated pension benefit payments, finance capital expenditures, information technology projects under the State’s capital programs and capital projects.

To assist with the pre-marketing process, the Firm worked with State and its Financial Advisor to develop an electronic investor roadshow posted concurrently with the POS, which was viewed by 74 distinct investors.

Market performance during the pricing process was characterized by alternating risk-on and risk-off sessions as sentiment shifted daily between de-escalation optimism and renewed Iran conflict concerns. Municipal issues struggled market-wide, with significant unsold balances and aggressive cuts up to 12bps. The Firm solicited indications of interest with spreads that were unchanged from pre-marketing levels for the Taxable Bonds. To maintain pre-pricing levels, Loop restructured the amortization of the Tax-Exempt Bonds to align with investor demand.

Ultimately, indications of interest for the Taxable Bonds generated $350.78 million of orders corresponding to 1.7x subscription. In aggregate, the Tax-Exempt Bonds generated $1.22 billion of orders corresponding to 1.2x subscription. In support of the transaction, Loop Capital Markets underwrote $34 million of Taxable Bonds and $20 million of Tax-Exempt Bonds, totaling $54 million.