Yvette Shields

Moody’s Investors Service affirmed Agnesian Health Care’s A3 rating while revising its outlook to positive from stable in recognition of its favorable operating margins.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has appointed a task force charged with reviewing the city’s existing ethics ordinance and recommending changes aimed at strengthening it and giving it teeth.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded the underlying rating of the Chicago Housing Authority’s 2006 capital revenue refunding bonds one notch to AA-minus because of lower debt service coverage ratios from federal funds.

The Chicago organization Women in Public Finance will recognize three women — Chicago's chief financial officer, Columbus' assistant auditor, and a public finance banker and financial advisor — at its sixth annual founders awards next month.

With trading active on much of bankrupt American Airlines' $3.2 billion of special facilities revenue bonds, some market participants are sounding a cautionary tone in assessing their value, as bargain hunters eye the airline's discounted bonds secured by collateral.

Low borrowing rates, high unemployment in the construction trades, and an expiring lease at its current home give urgency to the Minnesota Vikings' desire for a new home, team officials told lawmakers at a Minnesota Senate committee hearing this week.

A federal court judge in Chicago handed down a 14-year prison sentence to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted in June of corruption charges of using his office to enrich his campaign coffers and to try to profit from his pick to fill the Senate seat of President Obama.

CHICAGO — The bondholder-owned St. Louis convention center hotel complex is back on the selling block with consultants lining up potential bidders in hopes of closing on a deal next year, the bond trustee reported in an investor notice.

Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook to stable from negative on the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees’ A-plus due to improved operations.

In response to Fitch Ratings’ revision of its outlook on O’Hare International Airport’s general airport revenue bonds to negative, Chicago aviation officials said they are confident the airport’s position as a key hub for bankrupt American Airlines will limit any service cuts as the carrier reorganizes.

CHICAGO - Wisconsin will take competitive bids Tuesday on $138.3 million of general obligation bonds, the first half of a new-money sale to fund capital and infrastructure projects, with the remaining $130 million piece planned for early next year.

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Indiana last week gave final approval to Menasha, Wis.'s $17.5 million settlement with bondholders that resolves litigation over the city's default on $23 million of appropriation-backed notes for its failed steam plant.

CHICAGO — New members of a revamped Illinois Sports Facilities Authority board took their seats late last week, tasked with the challenge of easing the pressure on Chicago taxpayers to make up for potential shortfalls in hotel tax revenues used to repay $400 million of Soldier Field renovation bonds.

CHICAGO — Minnesota now expects an $876 million surplus in its current two-year budget, news welcomed by lawmakers five months after an impasse over how to fully erase $5 billion in red ink that partially shut down the state government for 20 days.

CHICAGO — The Illinois General Assembly wrapped up a special, one-day veto session this week after approving budget changes that will allow seven state facilities to remain open while shooting down a $200 million to $250 million tax relief package that included breaks for companies threatening to leave the state.

CHICAGO — The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District got mixed signals from rating agencies this week, winning an upgrade to AAA from Standard & Poor's while losing its top mark from Fitch Ratings ahead of a $53 million revenue bond sale next week.

CHICAGO — As market participants digested the news of American Airlines' Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy filing Tuesday, airports stressed their ability to withstand any potential impact while tax-exempt investors reached out to bankruptcy attorneys to gauge the strength of their holdings.

CHICAGO — As market participants digested the news of American Airlines' Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy filing Tuesday, airports stressed their ability to withstand any potential impact while tax-exempt investors reached out to bankruptcy attorneys to gauge the strength of their holdings.

CHICAGO — Six months after a devastating tornado destroyed its competitor's facility, Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo., will come to market next week with $25 million of bonds, primarily to fund additional beds needed to meet a surge in demand for its services.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the Kenosha Unified School District's general obligation rating by one notch to A1 and warned of further action by assigning a negative outlook due to the Wisconsin district's fiscal strains.