Caitlin Devitt

CHICAGO - Cook County, Ill., will enter the market beginning Wednesday with $600 million of taxable and tax-exempt bonds in its new administration's first borrowing since taking office last year.

CHICAGO - Detroit Public Schools' new chief financial officer says the district's upcoming $239 million deficit bond sale will help put it on the road to stable fiscal health, allowing it to avoid the short-term borrowing it has relied on for years and erase a chunk of its structural deficit.

CHICAGO - Gov. Rick Snyder is pushing a measure to eliminate or trim Michigan's personal property tax, which could pressure localities that rely on the money for operating costs and debt repayment, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency and local government proponents.

CHICAGO - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder this week unveiled $145 million of proposed cuts, mostly tied to the correctional system, to balance the budget as the state embarks on a fresh fiscal year starting Saturday.

CHICAGO - Firms interested in acting as underwriter for the Ohio Housing Finance Authority have until Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. to submit proposals.

CHICAGO - Ohio State University's plan to privatize its parking system advanced this week when the school posted a request for qualifications for firms interested in the asset.

CHICAGO — Michigan-based Trinity Health Corp. will bring the year's largest health care deal to market next week when it sells $648 million of debt, some of which will finance its recent acquisition of Loyola University Health System.

The Cincinnati City Council last week approved a measure to issue up to $28 million of bonds to finance infrastructure improvements around a future casino.

Omaha will retain its triple-A ratings from Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service as it heads to market next week with $23.8 million of general obligation bonds.

Miller Canfield attorney Michael McGee has been tapped to serve on the board of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, an independent research group, for the 2011-12 term, the firm announced Monday.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last week signed into law a measure that will allow Highland Park to refinance and provide additional security for its outstanding financial recovery bonds.

CHICAGO - Ann Arbor in on track to become the first city in Michigan to launch a bond-backed energy efficiency program authorized in state legislation adopted last year.

CHICAGO - With a sizable bond issue coming, Fitch Ratings hit Cook County, Ill., with a downgrade to AA-minus from AA and revised its outlook to negative at the lower rating, warning that the nation's second-largest county faces persistent fiscal challenges.

CHICAGO - Holders of $18 million of unrated debt issued for a large suburban Cincinnati mall are working to extend a forbearance agreement with the project's owners, who have failed to make debt service payments on the bonds since 2008.

CHICAGO - A new independent study on a controversial plan to build a publicly funded bridge in Michigan says proposed bond covenants would protect state taxpayers if toll revenues fall short of expectations, but that interest rate costs could push the price tag past $4 billion.

Moody’s Investors Service last week affirmed its Aa2 on Nebraska’s outstanding certificates of participation, which are issued to finance a variety of leases and equipment purchases for state agencies.

U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke last week offered a bill that would require all federal taxes paid in Detroit to be reinvested back into the city for the next five years.

Members of the Michigan Legislature’s Senate Economic Development Committee said they would extend a series of hearings on whether to advance a plan to build a $3.8 billion, publicly funded bridge spanning the busy trade route between Detroit and Canada.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is expected to hand over management of a high-profile, $528 million light-rail project to the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

CHICAGO - Ohio will take competitive bids Wednesday on $300 million of general obligation bonds to finance capital projects for schools across the state.