Yvette Shields

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.

Detroit’s retirees and employees endorsed the city’s proposed plan of adjustment while holders of the city’s limited tax general obligation bond holders and certificates of participation rejected it, according to the voting results released late Monday by the federal bankruptcy court.

Detroit's proposed plan of adjustment to deal with its $18 billion debt load is feasible, the municipal finance expert witness hired by the federal bankruptcy court to assess the plan believes.

Illinois faces an additional $128 million tab for retiree health insurance due to the recent Illinois Supreme Court decision assigning constitutional protections to the benefits.

Moody's Investors Service lowered the University of Chicago's rating one level to Aa2 as the school prepares to take on more debt to further its long-term strategic plans that will strain cash flow over the next several years.

The Republican candidate for Illinois governor unveiled a proposal to overhaul the state's tax system that calls for phasing out the state's 2011 temporary income tax hike, expanding the sales tax, and freezing property taxes.