Yvette Shields

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board signed off on a 2016 Budget that counts on $1.3 billion in revenues for maintenance, operations, debt service, and capital costs.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission won an upgrade of its subordinate bond credit after a new review.

The Chicago Board of Education voted to move ahead with two borrowing items to help keep the struggling Chicago Public Schools afloat.

The College of DuPage, Ill. board chairwoman Kathy Hamilton, who spearheaded reform efforts that also led to the ouster of the college president and the school’s finance team, abruptly resigned.

Indiana would build a new $120 million bond-financed mental health facility in what Gov. Mike Pence’s administration is billing as an affordable option that will usher in a new model of care

The junk-rated Chicago Public Schools, on track to run out of cash next month, will add $120 million to its delayed $1 billion bond sale and dip into a new credit line for another $130 million.

Long-term pressures continue to weigh on Detroit’s recovery, a year after the city emerged from bankruptcy with a healthier balance sheet.

Chicago Teachers’ Union members overwhelming authorized a strike in a vote taken last week.

Illinois’ release of motor fuel tax, gambling, and emergency surcharge revenues to local governments is a positive credit move for municipalities, says Moody’s Investors Service.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District board signed off on a rate hike and sending a $900 million bonding authorization to voters on the April 5 ballot.

Investment banking firms have until Dec. 22 to submit qualifications to Wisconsin as the state prepares new underwriting and dealer pools for negotiated sales under its various bond programs.

Ferguson, Missouri’s rating has sunk further into speculative grade territory as the city’s struggle to recover from a controversial 2014 police shooting continues to batter its once healthy balance sheet.

Coralville, Iowa’s general obligation bond rating moved closer to speculative grade amid balance sheet struggles due in part to its investment in recreational enterprises.

The Illinois Finance Authority isn’t quite ready to sell a proposed $115 million state moral-obligation backed financing to speed up overdue payments for essential goods and services.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan suggested that recently expired income tax rates offer a good starting point in negotiations over the role of revenue in solving a roughly $5 billion budget deficit.

SwedishAmerican Hospital in Rockford, Ill. won an upgrade from Standard & Poor's and also received a positive outlook thanks to its nearly year-old affiliation with a stronger system.

Indiana will spend $70 million to expand lanes on a well-traveled stretch of Interstate 65 under a plan announced by Gov. Mike Pence.

Chicago is joining the Chicago Public Schools in delaying plans to sell general obligation debt until the New Year.

Contribution levels that fall short of actuarially required needs drove growth in the unfunded liabilities of a majority of 11 pension funds that cover Chicago area governments and local government employees throughout the state.

Women in Public Finance has chosen Carole Brown, a longtime Chicago-based public finance banker who became the city’s chief financial officer this year, to receive its founders’ award honoring lifetime achievement.