Caitlin Devitt

Bondholders of the nearly $6 billion of Detroit water and sewer debt hold one of the strongest hands for recovery as Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr tries to restructure the city's massive debt load.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Wednesday said he was writing lawmakers' pay out of the new fiscal 2014 budget until they send him a comprehensive solution to address the state's $95 billion pension liability.

A new analysis warns of that local governments in Cook County face a debt burden of $34 billion, the bulk of that coming from Chicago and from unfunded retiree benefits.

In the first formal push against Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr's restructuring plan, Ambac Assurance Corp. Monday called the plan harmful to the city's future and said it has hired an advisory firm.

Detroit sued Syncora Guarantee Inc. in state court Friday, accusing the bond insurer of blocking access to casino revenue and interfering with delicate negotiations over interest-rate swaps hedging pension certificates.

Once considered relatively isolated from Detroit's problems, its $6 billion of water and sewer debt have been been pushed into junk territory by two of the three major ratings agencies.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Tuesday signed into law a pair of bills broadening state power over small school districts and appointed a review team to investigate the Pontiac School District.

The Columbus City Council approved an $842 million bond measure for the November ballot, and the city's school district approved a $200 million request.

The Pakistan-based company that last week sold $1.3 billion of notes for a controversial fertilizer plant in Indiana expects to head back to the market with the long-term financing in the first quarter of 2014.

The city of Evanston, Ill. lost its coveted Aaa rating last week when Moody's Investors Service downgraded it to Aa1 in light of the city's large pension liability.

Breaking a weeks-long silence, a spokesman for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder told The Bond Buyer that the state supports Detroit's plan to default and treat its GO debt as unsecured. It answers a question that's been on the mind of the muni market since Kevyn Orr unveiled his controversial plan in June.

Ohio lawmakers last week sent a two-year $62 billion operating budget to Gov. John Kasich, who will sign the spending plan into law by Sunday, a day of the state's new fiscal year July 1.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has named Brian Bailey as the state's new budget director, replacing Chris Atkins who will become director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed a former human resources director at the city of Pontiac to serve as emergency manager of Hamtramck, which now enters its second state takeover in less than 10 years.

The Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority is on a fast-track to privatize the airport and surrounding land to help revitalize the struggling city of Gary and position the facility as Chicago's third regional airport.

Moody's Investors Service revised its outlook to negative on the NCAA, warning that litigation tied to the growing public debate over the treatment of student-athletes pose risks to the agency's operations.

After a massive restructuring of Pontiac, Mich., emergency manager Louis "Bud" Schimmel says he's ready to retire after tackling one last obstacle: the city's retiree health care debt.

University Hospitals, one of Cleveland's largest systems, wants to acquire nearby EMH Healthcare.

Detroit's restructuring plan illustrates how unfunded pension and health care liabilities threaten bond insurers, Moody's Investors Service said in a comment Monday.

Posey County, Ind. will bring nearly $1.3 billion of short-term refunding debt to market for a controversial fertilizer plant after the state dropped its support.