Yvette Shields

CHICAGO — Illinois lawmakers return to work Tuesday for their annual fall veto session with a full plate that includes a proposed income-tax hike, a pension borrowing plan, and a gaming expansion bill — all to help address the state’s fiscal crisis.

CHICAGO — Aurora Health Care Inc. in Wisconsin enters the market as soon as Tuesday to refund $140 million of outstanding debt in a deal officials scaled down from $377 million due to rising long-term interest rates.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Railsplitter Tobacco Settlement Authority hopes to sell investors on its $1.46 billion tax-exempt tobacco bond issue early next month by using a more conservative structure than seen on past deals that ensures bondholders are repaid even if cigarette consumption falls annually by 10% in the coming years.

CHICAGO — Repayment of $46.6 million of taxable tribal gaming revenue bonds issued for the Lac du Flambeau tribe in Wisconsin is in the hands of a federal appellate panel after lawyers for the tribe and bondholders laid out their arguments in a dispute over whether the trust indenture required federal approval.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority board this week approved the first tranche of private-activity borrowing planned by CenterPoint Joliet Terminal Railroad LLC to finance ongoing construction at its intermodal freight-transfer facility in Joliet under a $15 billion federal government pilot program.

Retiring Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle Monday said the fate of the $810 million, federally funded high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee is now in the hands of Governor-elect Scott Walker.

Iowa’s governor-elect, Terry Branstad, last week said he wants to halt spending associated with outgoing Gov. Chet Culver’s Iowa Jobs capital program.

Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Ron Huberman will leave his post at the fiscally struggling school district at the end of the month.

CHICAGO — Missouri’s passage of a ballot measure that threatens Kansas City and St. Louis’ long-term collection of a 1% earnings tax could stress both cities’ credits, Moody’s Investors Service warned in its weekly credit outlook released Monday.

CHICAGO — The Iowa Finance Authority will compete for investor interest in a crowded market Tuesday with the sale of $293 million of triple-A rated, new-money and refunding state revolving fund revenue bonds that tap the Build America Bond program.

Chicago's heavy use of non-recurring revenues to balance its budget and sizable unfunded pension liabilities drove Standard & Poor's to drop the city's general obligation rating from the double-A category on Friday.

Minnesota's debt manager Kathy Kardell recently resigned to take a newly created position on Hennepin County's finance team, a loss for the state's finance team that comes as the executive and legislative branches are set to change party hands following the election last week.

The Illinois Senate adjourned a one-day session Thursday after the Democratic majority failed to muster enough support to win passage of a $3.8 billion general obligation issue to cover state pension payments owed in the current fiscal year.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has selected Public Financial Management Inc. and Gardner, Underwood & Bacon LLC as co-financial advisers for its sale next month of up to $500 million of new-money debt tapping the Build America Bond program.

CHICAGO — Chicago’s reliance on non-recurring revenues over deep spending cuts to balance the proposed $6.2 billion 2011 budget is costly and only delays a financial reckoning that could lead to steep tax increases and-or harsh budget cuts, a fiscal watchdog group warned.

CHICAGO — With a water revenue deal pricing Wednesday and a pending general obligation deal, Chicago has stepped up its investor-relation efforts as it seeks to minimize the premium demanded by buyers of paper from Illinois-based borrowers due to the state’s liquidity and budget crisis.

The Minneapolis City Council last week approved up to $16.5 million of recovery zone facility bonds toward the American Academy of Neurology’s plans to build a new global headquarters, according to a news release from the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development Department.

Iowa expects to close out fiscal 2011 with an ending balance and reserves of $914 million, according to a memorandum budget director Richard Oshlo sent to Gov. Chet Culver that was released last week.

A Chicago-based government review group last week endorsed DuPage County’s proposed $459 million fiscal 2011 budget, but urged the top-rated county to improve its long-term financial planning to prepare for future issues.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority has launched a new state-supported borrowing program for its local government, school, not-for-profit, and business clients aimed at lowering their borrowing costs to finance energy-efficiency projects.