Yvette Shields

Missouri transportation officials blamed a lack of consensus on how to pay for the state's transportation needs for the failed ballot measure that sought a sales tax hike to generate more than $5 billion in new revenue.

The struggling Lakeside 370 Levee District in St. Charles County, Missouri has filed Chapter 9 bankruptcy as it seeks to restructure $34 million of unrated bonds in hopes of improving the project's prospects.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel hosts the investor community Friday with a mixed bag of news to share a year after its last meeting was marred by a rare triple-notch downgrade.

Illinois' current fiscal strains pose a threat to the credits of state's public universities that rely heavily on state subsidies, Standard & Poor's warns in a new report.

Minnesota will take bids Tuesday on a rare certificates of participation issue for $85.4 million Tuesday to raise funds to finance a new legislative office building that was the subject of a legal challenge.

Chicago heads into its 2015 budget season with a $297 million gap to close according to projections that delay the city's funding of a $550 million spike in police and fire pension fund contributions.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld Gov. Scott Walker's controversial law that curbed most collective bargaining rights for public employees.

The Chicago City Council approved a 56% increase in the city's emergency services surcharge that's tacked on to phone bills, staving off the need for a $50 million property tax hike next year to cover the first year of higher contributions due under a pension reform plan.

Moody's Investors Service revised the Illinois Institute of Technology's outlook to stable, easing pressure on the rating that is at the lowest investment grade level.

Wisconsin will refund $257 million of general obligation bonds Tuesday and may add another $56 million of forward delivery refunding bonds if the market cooperates.

Illinois made headway in paying down its bill backlog in fiscal 2014, bringing the total to under $5 billion for the first time in years, as state revenues showed growth on par with estimates.

The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is playing up the rare tax-exemption from state income taxes and sturdy repayment protections offered by its $285 million refunding that’s linked to the troubled state credit through an appropriation pledge.

One rating agency dropped Rock Island County, Ill. out of the double-A category while another boosted it into the upper ranks, providing a stark contrast in credit views.

The Chicago Infrastructure Trust hopes to launch a competitive selection process this fall for private partners in its third energy retrofit project – city outdoor lighting upgrades.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Tuesday a $1.1 billion bond-financed transportation package.

The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a nearly $6.8 billion budget even as some board members expressed reservations over the district's reliance on one-time manuevers to close a $900 million shortfall.

Illinois suffered a setback Wednesday when Standard & Poor's revised its outlook on the state's A-minus rating to negative, reflecting analysts' dim view of the state's new budget and concerns over whether retirement benefit reforms will withstand a legal test.

The Regents of the University of Minnesota will sell $141 million of general obligation bonds Thursday to finance construction of a new ambulatory care center.

With the votes in on Detroit's plan to deal with its $18 billion of debt, the stage is set for confirmation hearings next month that will pit unhappy bondholders and bond insurers against employees and retirees who overwhelmingly endorsed the plan.

Despite significant obstacles, Detroit's proposed plan of adjustment to exit its Chapter 9 bankruptcy is feasible, according to Martha Kopacz, the municipal finance expert hired by the bankruptcy court to assess the plan.