Yvette Shields

Illinois local governments, especially school districts, are faring better than their Pennsylvania counterparts during their respective state’s budget impasse, Moody’s Investors Service says.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2016 budget and record property tax hike to pay for public safety pensions easily cleared the City Council Wednesday.

Chicago City Council members cast their vote Wednesday on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s nearly $8 billion 2016 budget that relies on a record property tax hike billed as the needed fix for the city’s pension mess that’s behind its plummeting credit.

Despite last week’s downgrades, Illinois’ general obligation paper fares better than New Jersey for relative credit risk, Municipal Market Analytics said in a commentary comparing the two lowest-rated states.

Six of Illinois’ eight public universities took a fresh credit blow from Moody’s Investors Service with downgrades stemming from exposure to the state’s fiscal strains and its budget crisis.

The Chicago Park District’s AA-plus Standard & Poor's rating won’t change solely because of a new legal challenge launched against its pension reforms.

The developers of a $2.8 billion Indiana fertilizer plant will remarket $1.26 billion of debt as they continue trying to finalize project details they have to nail down before they can roll the securities into a long-term structure.

The Michigan Senate will begin reviewing the $1.2 billion transportation plan passed by the House the week of Oct. 26.

St. Louis-based retail stalwart Edward Jones will drop its negotiated public finance underwriting business at the end of the year.

Illinois took its second credit blow this week when Moody’s Investors Service dropped the state’s general obligation debt into the triple-B category Thursday as the state’s prospects for tackling its budget and pension mess dim amid the four-month-old budget stalemate.

Allen Park, Mich., has delayed the settlement date for its purchase of $11.2 million of the $26.3 million of bonds offered to tender from a troubled issue for a failed movie studio project.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is urging state lawmakers to sign off on $200 million of general obligation borrowing for transportation-related projects that face delays without the infusion of funds.

Local credits in Michigan will be hurt if a proposal to give their unlimited tax general obligation bonds a statutory first lien falls through, Fitch Ratings said in a special report.

Investors should brace for further deterioration of Illinois’ already battered bond ratings after this week’s Fitch Ratings downgrade.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says his $715 million restructuring plan for Detroit’s school system is less expensive for the state than doing nothing.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Illinois one notch to BBB-plus.

Illinois’ deferral of its November pension contribution over a cash flow crunch is a negative credit factor, said Moody’s Investors Service.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s strong financials and independent governance are key strengths that have staved off the credit hits suffered by Chicago and other local governments, says Moody’s Investors Service.

Distribution of an $8.25 million legal settlement fund for investors in a failed Missouri sucralose plant is expected by the end of the year in a class action suit against underwriter Morgan Keegan and law firm Armstrong Teasdale.

Indianapolis received a first time general obligation rating of AA-plus from Kroll Bond Rating Agency.