Illinois

The county treasurer's new report describing large hikes in Chicago residential tax bills effectively takes property tax hikes off the table for the city.

Chicago homeowners face a record property tax hike after the city's downtown office buildings and other commercial real estate values fell again.

Illinois lawmakers sent Gov. JB Pritzker a bill to facilitate the use of STAR bonds for economic development, which has happened only once in 15 years.

The airport's sprawling capital improvement program is expected to total $11.5 billion over the next decade, $9 billion of it bond funded.

Moody's revised the outlook on the Chicago Board of Education to stable from positive on Monday.

"Illinois is just pure mismanagement," Ryan Frost, managing director of the Reason Foundation's Pension Integrity Project, said.

Chicago Public Schools went to market this week with nearly $1.1 billion of refunding bonds in the largest municipal transaction the district ever completed.

Illinois' Grand Prairie Water Commission went to market Monday in a debut deal as it builds infrastrcture linking the Joliet area with Chicago's water system.

Mayor Brandon Johnson released to City Council a report from accounting firm Ernst & Young with recommendations for closing the city's structural budget gap.

The upgrade is driven by realized and expected improvement in the state's financial metrics, the rating agency said.

Brandon Johnson released his $16.6 billion 2026 budget last week. The budget calls for new revenue sources, but avoids property tax hikes.

The city council of Harvey voted to declare the city financially distressed in a bid for state oversight, as the mayor warned of a city government shutdown.

Metra announced fare hikes in its 2026 budget, part of a broader regional policy requiring the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace to raise fares.

Legislators and transit groups are pushing to get transit reform across the finish line this month, lawmakers and stakeholders said Friday.

Public finance careers require flexibility and relationship-building, said speakers a University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy event.

Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland will face economic costs from the Trump administration's showy deployments of National Guard troops and immigration agents.

Illinois school districts face worsening credit pressure due rising personnel and special education costs and slower home price growth, S&P Global Ratings said.

Chicago has selected its new senior manager and co-manager pools to underwrite future bond deals, five months after it released its request for qualifications.

Raymond James has added four senior public finance professionals — two to its Chicago office, and two to a new office it is opening in Naperville.

Two months after property tax payments would normally be due, Cook County, Illinois, is still struggling to send out accurate bills for the second part of 2024.