Chicago gets rating bump despite drag of pension costs, union workforce – Center Square

"The 'BBB' rating remains well below the sector median, incorporating several key risks including Chicago's constrained expenditure profile given the heavily unionized nature of its workforce and exceptionally high carrying costs for debt and pensions, a history of sizable budget gaps and dependence on one-time gap closing measures, and a revenue base highly sensitive to economic setbacks," according to the Fitch report.