By Nick Gale

CHICAGO - Gov. Pat Quinn is defending his decision not to have a bond sale as planned.

The $500 million bond sale was to have happened Wednesday but Quinn said the timing wasn’t right.

“The market was a little unsettled and as you know we had a downgrade from…Standard and Poor’s last Friday and so our experts thought it would be prudent to hold back for a temporary time and make sure the market gets settled before we go out to the market and issue a half a billion dollars’worth of bonds,” Quinn said.

He called it another “alarm bell” that should alert the General Assembly to the importance of reforming the public pension system.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) added that failing to pay down a backlog of bills and not living “within our means” also “contributing to this uncertainty in the markets for us.”

Proceeds from the bond sale are earmarked for the state’s capital construction program.

Quinn said the bonds will be issued “in due time.”