Yvette Shields

Moody's Investors Service's new methodology for bonds backed by special tax revenues prompted it to put Chicago's Aa2 sales-tax-backed rating on review for a possible downgrade.

The Illinois Finance Authority board advanced up to $875 million worth of borrowing for health care and higher education organizations, including Ascension Health Alliance's sale of up to $600 million of new-money and refunding debt and $150 million from Loyola University of Chicago.

CHICAGO — The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday granted Chicago's request to preserve its ability to pursue a privatization of Midway Airport under a federal pilot program until the end of the year.

CHICAGO — Milwaukee city and county voters chose new comptrollers last week, while those in a tornado-ravaged Missouri city approved bonding for school building projects, and St. Louis County voters approved new debt for courthouse projects.

CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday hailed the consent decree approved a day earlier by the Detroit City Council, saying it would put the city on the path to fiscal stability after decades of struggle.

Illinois plans to hit the market in the coming months with $3.5 billion to $4 billion of borrowing in three deals.

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority of Illinois has selected a finance team as it gears up to enter the market with a big refunding to take advantage of a favorable market.

A group of seven Illinois safety-net hospitals last week unveiled several measures they said could trim $1.4 billion from the state’s Medicaid expenses and eliminate the need for the deeper cuts that Gov. Pat Quinn has requested.

Moody’s Investors Service has signaled that the junk-level rating on MJH Education Assistance Illinois IV LLC’s student housing revenue bonds for the Fullerton Village Project has stabilized by revising the outlook to stable from negative on the senior-lien bonds.

The Illinois Coalition to Protect the Public Commons, a group that opposes public asset privatization, last week announced its concerns over Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to establish an infrastructure trust bank that would leverage private investment in public projects.

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday tapped his budget director David Vaught to lead the state' economic development efforts and named senior adviser Jerry Stermer to serve as Vaught' temporary replacement.

Chicago has requested a federal extension until the end of the year to decide whether to attempt to privatize Midway Airport, a move that preserves the city's ability to resurrect a lease deal that could generate several billion dollars in up-front cash.

Honing in on infrastructure investment to revitalize Chicago's landscape and economy, Mayor Rahm Emanuel put a price tag of $7.3 billion on public works projects planned over the next four years and pressed airlines to support a fourth new runway at O'Hare International Airport.

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools must close an up to $700 million shortfall in its next budget with a more than $1 billion deficit looming in 2014 due to mounting operational, pension and debt service costs amid dwindling federal funds.

Illinois borrowed $4 billion last year to fund capital projects and cover its fiscal 2011 pension payment, putting it among the ranks of top issuers, but its issuance levels actually marked a sharp drop from 2010, when the state flooded the market with $8.7 billion of paper in nine deals.

CHICAGO — The Mayo Clinic took retail orders Tuesday on $200 million of revenue bonds and will open the sale to institutional buyers Wednesday as it finances various capital projects, including a new proton beam therapy center at its flagship campus in Rochester, Minn.

Moody’s Investors Service raised its rating to Baa1 from Baa2 on Wheaton Franciscan Services in recognition of several years of improved operations at the Wisconsin hospital and the strong results expected this year.

Minnesota House Republicans, who hold a majority, last week released a scaled-down version of Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed capital budget known as the bonding bill package.

Moody’s Investors Service has taken the positive outlook off of St. Paul’s Aa1 rating ahead of the city’s sale later this month of $16 million of new-money general obligation debt.

Standard & Poor’s last week revised the outlook on Governors State University’s A-minus to stable from negative, due in part to the Illinois school’s demonstrated ability to manage cash flow and operations and make timely debt service payments, despite chronic delays in state aid.