Yvette Shields

St. Louis saw strong demand among institutional buyers for its $30 million refunding last week of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport revenue bonds and achieved 4.6% in net present-value savings, city Comptroller Darlene Green said.

The newly merged Central DuPage Health-Delnor Health System last week announced the appointment of Brett Tande to be its vice president and treasurer. He left the private sector where he was a health care banker to join the new system this past spring.

CHICAGO – A federal jury convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 17 of 20 counts leveled against him by prosecutors in a two-month-old corruption retrial, finding him guilty of trying to use his office to enrich his campaign coffers and profit from his pick to fill the Senate seat held by President Obama.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois will take competitive bids Tuesday on $100 million of general obligation refunding bonds and in a separate transaction will further tap its commercial paper program as it awaits nearly $400 million in overdue state aid payments.

CHICAGO - The University of Missouri Board of Curators will enter the market next week with $60 million of refunding system facilities revenue bonds as itgrapples with a steeper-than-expected cut in state aid made by Gov. Jay Nixon earlier this month.

CHICAGO - Wisconsin plans to take competitive bids July 6 on $800 million of operating notes that will help the state smooth out its cash-flow needs.

CHICAGO — The Illinois General Assembly during a special session Wednesday approved an $18 billion fiscal 2012 capital bill, reauthorizing spending for billions of dollars in projects now underway or in the works, and putting to rest concerns over a threatened suspension issued by Gov. Pat Quinn earlier this month.

CHICAGO - The University of Illinois Thursday will refund outstanding debt and raise new money for the ongoing makeover of a major student housing complex that comes as Illinois' flagship public university has scaled back on capital plans amid ongoing delinquencies in state support.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the city of Burlington's sewer revenue bonds one notch to A1 ahead of a planned sale this week of $5.3 million.

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded by one notch to Aa2 its rating on Mettawa's general obligation debt due to the village's healthy financial position. The action comes ahead of a planned sale this week of $1.9 million of bonds.

The Chicago Board of Education last week voted to rescind a planned 4% teachers’ raise in the district’s next $6.5 billion budget as it struggles with a looming $712 million deficit.

CHICAGO - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will spend the next week or so reviewing the $66 billion, two-year budget approved by lawmakers before signing the spending plan, which closely resembles his original proposal by dealing with a $3 billion deficit primarily with cuts.

CHICAGO - Legislative gridlock and political discord in the Midwest have put Minnesota on the path towards a partial government shutdown, stalled action on a new budget in Iowa, and threatened Illinois' summer construction season.

CHICAGO — A New York State court judge has ordered Assured Guaranty Corp. to honor coverage of $83.3 million of Iowa's Xenia Rural Water District bonds as part of its 2009 reinsurance agreement with CIFG Assurance North America Inc.

CHICAGO — Washington University in St. Louis will enter the market Thursday with nearly $200 million of new-money and refunding revenue bonds that will help finance projects and introduce taxable bonds into the top-rated school's debt portfolio.

CHICAGO - Debate was expected to began Wednesday in the Wisconsin Assembly on a new budget, one day after the state's high court reinstated Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill that raised employee pension payments and health care premiums and curbed most public unions' collective bargaining rights.

CHICAGO — A New York State court judge has ruled that Assured Guaranty Corp. is on the hook to cover $83.3 million of Iowa’s Xenia Rural Water District bonds as part of its reinsurance agreement with CIFG Assurance North America Inc.

CHICAGO - While its issuance levels recently have reflected the national slowdown, the Illinois Finance Authority is seeing some pickup in health-care deal flow with four issues for nearly $800 million in the works, including $533 million for the state's largest health care system and three direct bank purchases.

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Lake Geneva’s rating a notch to Aa2, citing its solid financial position.

Standard & Poor’s last week lowered its rating on the Nevada Regional Medical Center into junk bond territory due to ongoing strains on the balance sheet.