Yvette Shields

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority board on Tuesday advanced plans for a series of financings, including the first in the state in seven years to take advantage of the FHA 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program. Another could be the first to tap the state’s Midwestern disaster area bond allocation.

The Missouri Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court ruling that supports state laws on charter school financing.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded Lake Region Healthcare Corp. to BBB from A-minus due to its balance sheet struggles.

The Iowa Legislative Services Agency reported that general fund revenue collected in July dipped by $2.3 million compared to last year.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn last week made four appointments to the East St. Louis Financial Advisory Authority.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Public Schools on Monday proposed a $6.4 billion budget for the next year that includes $600 million of bonds and would drain the district’s $190 million fund balance to help erase $370 million of red ink.

CHICAGO — Moody’s Investors Service presented Chicago with a second dose of negative rating news Friday when it downgraded the city’s general obligation credit one level to Aa3 due to concerns about its 2011 budget deficit and evaporating financial reserves.

CHICAGO — After years of credit ­stability, Chicago saw Fitch Ratings drop its general obligation rating Thursday to AA from AA-plus due to the weakening fiscal position of a city struggling with rising labor costs, lackluster revenue ­collections, and a burdensome unfunded pension ­liability.

CHICAGO - Fitch Ratings on Thursday downgraded Chicago’s general obligation rating by one notch to AA due to the city’s weakened fiscal position and warned of possible further action by assigning a negative outlook.

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Richard Daley renewed his pledge Wednesday not to raise property taxes, but warned that the city may be forced to cut some services as it grapples with a record $654.7 million of red ink in the next budget.

CHICAGO — Moody’s Investors Service this week lowered Kimberly Area School District’s general obligation debt one notch to Aa3, making it the third district to suffer a downgrade after reneging on a moral obligation pledge to repay asset-backed notes issued by their non-pension retiree health care trusts.

CHICAGO — Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded more than $220 million of general airport revenue bonds issued for Kansas City International Airport by one notch due to a decline in debt-service coverage ratios and increased exposure to non-airline related revenues.

CHICAGO — Branson Airport LLC dipped into reserves to cover its July 1 debt-service payment on $113 million of unrated tax-exempt bonds as it struggles to meet traffic projections for the privately built and operated Missouri facility.

The credit quality of Iowa school districts is not expected to suffer as they deal with mid-year state aid cuts, Moody’s Investors Service said last week in a special report.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley last week proposed allocating $98 million in tax-increment financing assistance to support the transformation of the shuttered U.S. Steel Corp.’s South Works plant along the south shore of Lake Michigan into a new mixed-use community.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded Chicago’s motor-fuel tax bonds one notch to A-minus and assigned a negative outlook due to the rating’s link to Illinois’ credit.

CHICAGO — St. Louis voters will cast ballots Tuesday on a $155 million bond referendum to finance improvements at the city’s public schools.

CHICAGO — Chicago faces a record $654.7 million deficit as work begins in earnest on a $6.3 billion 2011 budget, while expectations of a slight improvement in revenue collections can’t keep pace with growing ­personnel costs.

CHICAGO — Philadelphia-based PNC Capital Markets this month expanded its public finance banking presence to Illinois with the hiring of Walter Stock in Chicago.

CHICAGO — St. Louis-based Stern Brothers has hired Adam Pierce to strengthen its alternative energy and power practice as part of an ongoing national expansion of its public finance business.