Yvette Shields

Former Dixon, Ill., Comptroller Rita Crundwell entered a guilty plea last week to federal fraud charges for stealing $53 million in city funds since 1990 to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a quarter horse farming business.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn this week launched an Internet-based grassroots campaign aimed at raising public support for pension reforms.

Assured Guaranty Corp. is asking an Iowa court to name a receiver to oversee the Xenia Rural Water District which has struggled to repay $81 million of outstanding revenue bonds insured by the company.

Illinois ended the last fiscal quarter with a pile of $5.9 billion in overdue bills, $2 billion more than a year ago even though tax collections are on the rise, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka reported this week.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's $6.5 billion 2013 budget easily won City Council approval as most members praised the plan for holding the line on taxes while holdouts voiced misgivings over police staffing and revenue projections.

The health of Illinois' pension system continued it downward spiral in the last fiscal year when unfunded liabilities rose by more than $11 billion and the funded ratio deteriorated to 40.4%, according to the Civic Federation of Chicago.

The Illinois Finance Authority advanced $430 Million in deals for projects planned by the University of Chicago Medical Center, Advocate Health Care Network, the Franciscan Communities, and the Big Ten Conference.

Mediation is set for early next year on a renovation plan for the St. Louis Rams’ professional football stadium.

Voters in Polk County, Iowa authorized $50 million of borrowing to finance environmental improvements.

Standard & Poor's has lowered Centralia, Ill.'s general obligation rating by one notch to A-minus as the city grapples with red ink.

Oak Brook, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care Network will sell $150 million of new-money this week to finance projects including a new patient tower at one of its 10 Illinois hospitals.

Just two weeks after receiving clearance from the state Supreme Court, Minnesota hits the market Wednesday with its $654 million tobacco refunding that marks its first formal use of an appropriation pledge.

Plans for the Iowa Fertilizer Co. to tap up to $1.2 billion of Midwestern Disaster Area Bond financing through the Iowa Finance Authority for its proposed nitrogen fertilizer plant are advancing.

The auction last month of assets from the half-built Mamtek US Inc. artificial sweetener plant in Moberly, Missouri raised about $1.8 million.

Illinois-based Centegra Health System will offer up $200 million of mostly refunding bonds Thursday as it seeks to lay the groundwork for future issuance to finance a new hospital.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposed $6.5 billion corporate fund budget for 2013 won the endorsement of a local government fiscal watchdog group.

Illinois will need to contribute $6.8 billion toward its five pension funds in the next fiscal year, up by about $965 million in the current fiscal 2013 budget, the Chicago Civic Federation said.

With underwriting desks back and investor appetites whetted after a lack of primary paper last week, Wisconsin jumped into the market with its taxable $251 million refunding.

Grigsby & Associates Inc. owner Calvin Grigsby faces a December hearing on accusations leveled by Illinois Secretary of State regulators over the firm's investment advice to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn prevailed in his feud with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel when Quinn’s communications chief, Kelly Kraft, was named executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.