Yvette Shields

Lured by opinions and ratings endorsing its bankruptcy-remote structure and a still steep yield penalty, investors snapped up Chicago Public Schools’ A-rated capital improvement tax bonds.

Plans to upgrade Chicago’s streetlamp system are advancing with the launch of a public lighting demonstration ahead of a deadline early next year for final submissions from shortlisted private partners.

The Illinois Regional Transportation Authority Thursday will consider a $3 billion operating budget and $5.1 billion five-year capital plan that boosts spending next year but still falls far short of its needs as a new state capital program languishes amid the ongoing budget impasse.

Minneapolis-based investment bank Dougherty & Co. LLC will extend its trading and sales reach with the acquisition of fellow Minneapolis-based municipal broker-dealer Cronin & Co. Inc.

Illinois’ passage of a rate hike package to help keep open Exelon Generation Co. LLC’s nuclear plants in the state is a credit positive for the company, Moody’s Investors Service said.

With legal opinions endorsing the bankruptcy-remote structure of its next deal, and an A rating in hand, Chicago Public Schools’ new tax-revenue backed credit has a clear path to market access, though yield penalties will remain.

Chicago Public Schools is readying its inaugural sale under a new dedicated capital improvement tax structure crafted to convince investors that bond repayment is insulated from both the district's operating struggles and the threat of Chapter 9.

State and federal judges in Wisconsin approved final settlement agreements with Stifel and Royal Bank of Canada to conclude an eight-year effort by five school districts to recoup $200 million lost on a risky investment product.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District heads into the market with a $150 million mostly new money issue that taps a $945 million voter-approved bonding authorization from 2012.

Iowa’ s Xenia Rural Water District brought its long financial struggles to a happy ending as it formally shed remaining bonds from its troubled 2006 issue, ending a saga that began with an ambitious expansion that led to default and concerns over the district’s solvency.

The majority of school districts seeking to override Wisconsin-imposed property tax caps on operating revenue won, Moody’s Investors Service said.

The Iowa Fertilizer Co. LLC’s successful receipt of bondholder waivers and completion of a tender exchange for $150 million of the original nearly $1.2 billion deal eases pressures on the struggling project without eliminating them.

The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy named former Chicago chief financial officer Lois Scott as the inaugural chair of the advisory board that oversees its expanding Center for Municipal Finance.

Minnesota expects to close out its fiscal biennium June 30 with a $678 million balance, leaving the state $1.4 billion in surplus revenue available for the next two-year budget.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly’s Democratic leadership headed toward the New Year with a budget impasse still hanging over the state, after the annual veto session ended amid deepening political rancor.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel scored a major legislative victory with the state House’s overwhelming bipartisan approval of legislation designed to stave off looming insolvency for two of the city’s pension funds.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed legislation that would give Chicago Public Schools $215 million toward pension contributions, a move that potentially slaps the cash-strapped district with a big budget hole to fill.

Chicago wrapped up its second billion-dollar airport deal within a month at a price that displays how much the market has changed in that short time.

The Chicago City Council signed on a new special use tax-increment financing district designed to help leverage $1.1 billion in federal funding for Chicago Transit Authority rail transit improvements.

Chicago's effort to right its fiscal path remains an uphill battle, according to expert panelists convened by the City Club of Chicago.