Yvette Shields

Illinois will return to the market with $573 million of new money and refunding bonds under a higher-rated sales tax-backed credit.

The Great Lakes Water Authority is preparing its first bond issues since launching on Jan. 1, when it assumed Detroit’s $5.5 billion water and sewer debt portfolio and took charge of regional water management.

Chicago Public Schools unveiled a $5.4 billion budget that district officials call “balanced” though it relies on concessions the teachers’ union hasn’t accepted and the state making good on pledged pension help.

Chicago’s proposal to rescue its municipal pension fund from looming insolvency with a new water/sewer tax is a positive step that if finalized could stabilize the city’s rating, S&P Global Ratings said.

Governors State University lost its investment grade rating in the latest credit fallout to hit Illinois higher education institutions from the state’s budget mess.

At its recent investors’ conference, Chicago impressed analysts with a new plan to rescue the largest of the city’s four pension funds, but several attendees said the smooth presentations didn’t erase their worries about the city’s pensions and its budget.

Fitch Ratings lowered the issuer default ratings on four Ohio school districts after a review under new criteria.

Detroit Public Schools' $212 million of state aid-backed bonds received a downgrade to junk from S&P Global Ratings.

Chicago plans a tax on water and sewer services to save its largest pension fund from insolvency, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced.

A compromise agreement to put a tax hike on the November ballot that would help fund a $4.7 billion mass transit funding package for Southeastern Michigan could be voted on Thursday.

Chicago is selling a positive budget message at its annual investor conference Wednesday, but the theme is obscured by the city’s pension albatross.

Chicago’s public safety pension funds reported modest growth in their net liabilities in 2015 compared with the big jump at the city’s two other funds.

Junk-rated Chicago Public Schools borrowed $150 million through a private placement Friday, a move that allowed it to bypass a public offering.

Minnesota heads into the market Tuesday with its annual summer sale, bolstered by the restoration of one of its triple-A ratings.

Boosted by new grant funding, the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, led by new executive director Michael Belsky, wants to raise its voice on municipal finance research and education.

S&P Global Ratings dropped Western Illinois University two notches to BBB-minus, citing the state's prolonged budget mess.

Wisconsin is taking advantage of record low interest rates with about $915 million of general obligation and appropriation-backed bond refundings. Credit: Adobe Stock

Chicago isn’t on the “brink” of a financial collapse that could drive a default or bankruptcy but its pension fixes to date fall far short of stabilizing the city’s fiscal foundation, an analyst said.

With all governmental approvals and ratings in hand, Detroit expects to be in the market soon with its first post-Chapter 9 general obligation state distributive aid backed borrowing.

A court ruling Thursday offered a mixed outcome for Chicago’s effort to phase out most retiree healthcare subsidies.