Yvette Shields

Chicago's $8 billion expansion of O'Hare International Airport won a major court victory late last week that paves the way for its acquisition and relocation of a cemetery now in the path of a planned runway.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland last week signed a bipartisan agreement that avoids dramatic school funding cuts by delaying a 4.2% income tax cut to help plug an $850 million budget shortfall in education funding.

The St. Louis County Council earlier this week approved putting a half-cent sales tax increase for the Metro transit agency on the April ballot.

Missouri's top credit benefits from its economic diversity, good financial management, strong reserves, and a low debt burden, according to a new report from Standard & Poor's.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Jackson County's implied general obligation rating one notch to Aa3 and warned of further action by assigning a negative outlook due to the county's fiscal challenges.

The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission last week announced a proposal with a price tag of $870 million to reconfigure its Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to suit the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings.

Seeking to cement its foothold on Midwestern business, the New Jersey-based financial advisory firm Acacia Financial Group has opened a Chicago office and hired veteran public finance banker Courtney Shea to lead the firm's efforts in Illinois.

Six potential buyers were invited to participate in a second round of bidding that could lead to the sale of the smaller of two downtown St. Louis convention center hotels owned by bondholders.

The Regional Transportation Authority early next month will issue $179 million of general obligation bonds under its deal with Illinois aimed at freeing up capital funds to help close a fiscal 2010 budget gap at the Chicago Transit Authority without a fare hike.

Fitch Ratings this week dropped by two notches to A-minus its rating on the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority's $398 million issue from 2001 for the renovation of Chicago's Soldier Field stadium, the latest downgrade resulting from the state's credit problems.

Milwaukee yesterday sold $12 million of its planned $50 million qualified school construction bond issue for the Milwaukee Public Schools, putting the remainder off until next year, when it will use a negotiated sale.

Fitch Ratings recently downgraded the Howard Bend Levee District's 2005 debt to BBB from A-minus.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on Olmsted Medical Center's BBB-minus rating to positive from stable due to positive operating margins and an improved balance sheet. Analysts expect continued improvements even with the upcoming issuance of $20 million of new debt.

A local government fiscal watchdog group last week endorsed the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's proposed $1.7 billion fiscal 2010 budget, calling it a "prudent response to revenue shortfalls."

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn this week unveiled plans aimed at spurring jobs that include increasing access to start-up capital and expanding job training programs.

The House version of health care reform stands to save state and local governments about $24 billion over the next 10 years, while the Senate leadership's proposal could potentially cut state costs by $83 billion, according to a new study comparing the fiscal impacts of the plans.

CHICAGO — The Menasha Common Council and city utilities commission this week advanced plans that could resolve the Wisconsin city’s debt troubles and a bondholder lawsuit stemming from its now-shuttered steam plant by selling the facility to WPPI Energy.

CHICAGO — Illinois’ credit took a second hit this week as Standard & Poor’s yesterday dropped the state’s general obligation rating out of the double-A category, downgrading it to A-plus from AA-minus due to a deteriorating balance sheet and lack of progress in addressing budget problems.

CHICAGO — Illinois’s rating took its second hit this week when Standard & Poor’s Thursday knocked it down into the high single-A category and assigned a negative outlook based on the state’s deteriorating liquidity and fiscal position.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority board this week advanced $400 million of health care financings, including Memorial Health System’s $150 million issue selling today, and hired a new executive director — the agency’s general counsel and deputy director, Christopher Meister.