Yvette Shields

A majority of investors holding $113 million of bonds issued for the privately owned and operated Branson Airport in Missouri have agreed to give the struggling Ozarks air field more breathing room to bolster operations.

Acacia Financial Group Inc. fired Courtney Shea – the former public finance banker hired to open a Chicago office in 2009 -- and added former banker and investment asset manager professional Jim Beck to its Chicago team.

Fresh from a new-money Build Illinois sales tax-backed sale, Illinois plans to return to the market early in June to refund $600 million in its largest issue ever under the 28-year-old bond program.

The Chicago Board of Education voted to shutter 49 schools in a move defended by the school system and board members as needed to right-size a district straining with a $1 billion budget deficit.

A one-time infusion of higher-than-expected income tax revenues helped Illinois make a $2.7 billion dent in its chronic unpaid bill backlog but the the number is expected to again climb in the coming months.

An investor with a stake in $39 million of defaulted bonds issued for a failed artificial sweetener plant in Missouri dropped the underwriter's counsel from litigation and may be zeroing in on underwriter Morgan Keegan & Co.

Minnesota lawmakers wrapped up their work on a new two-year $38.3 budget late Monday approving a tax package that generates $2.1 billion in new revenue and provides aid for the Mayo Clinic's proposed makeover of its hometown.

The fiscal condition of Chicago, Cook County, and five other local government pension systems deteriorated in 2011 by $4.6 billion, bringing their collective unfunded obligations to $32 billion.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker reduced a proposed funding increase for the University of Wisconsin system in his proposed two-year budget by $94 million and recommended a tuition freeze.

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport received a triple dose of good credit news last week when Moody's Investors Service followed Fitch Ratings in upgrading the airport's credit and Standard & Poor's revised its outlook.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Board last week signed off on two planned hospital mergers in the Chicago area.

Missouri lawmakers adjourned after passing of a $25 billion fiscal 2014 operating budget and a $700 million to $800 million income tax cut package but taking no action on two major bond packages.

Chicago began notifying its retirees this week that most will lose their healthcare subsidies over the next few years as Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration seeks to shed a rising cost.

Minnesota would tap a chunk of new revenue expected from a proposed cigarette tax increase and corporate tax changes if gambling revenues needed to repay state borrowing for a new Vikings stadium fall short.

Chicago convention managers and Mayor Rahm Emanuel advanced plans Thursday for a new arena and makeover of the city's top tourist attraction as part of a $1 billion package of new and previously proposed tourism-and-entertainment projects.

More than two dozen local governments in Minnesota have seen their bond ratings cut over the last 16 months as they struggle with diminished property tax bases, limited revenue flexibility, and other fiscal strains.

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded HealthPartners Inc.'s rating one level to A2 in recognition of its improved operating performance.

Standard & Poor's has raised its rating by one notch on Riverside Health System to A-plus due to its leading market position and improved balance sheet.

Chicago City Council member Brendan Reilly said this week he has consulted with public finance experts in an exploration of how the city could finance a buy back of the parking meter system from private operators.

A retirement party for Wisconsin's longtime capital finance director Frank Hoadley takes place Wednesday in Madison. Hoadley retired at the end of February after 25 years managing the state's debt issuance.