The world of municipal bonds tends to be conservative in nature and slow to change. The ESG movement (environmental, social and governance) presents a new way of looking at things that can cause confusion and even shock when it bumps up against traditional concepts. This was the case in the municipality of Bolingbrook, an Illinois village 36 miles southwest of Chicago.

A municipality's ability to incur debt generally is governed by state law. The security pledged by the municipality in support of the debt will vary, but commonly will fit within one of the following categories: