Illinois

Illinois' public colleges and universities remain at risk of further credit damage after 21 months of state budget gridlock, Moody's Investors Service said Thursday.

Two Illinois-based not-for-profit healthcare systems dropped their merger plans Tuesday following a court ruling that favored the Federal Trade Commission in its efforts to block the union.

Illinois is awash in red ink and it’s expected to spread, according to series of bleak fiscal reports this week that illustrate the toll of a 21-month-old budget stalemate on state finances.

Illinois governments could lose up to $400 million in federal interest rate subsidies on their Build America Bonds under prolonged federal budget sequestration, according to a new academic study that looks at the losses as similar programs are eyed to help fund $1 trillion in infrastructure spending

A flurry of filings are due over the next month as Chicago Public Schools seeks a ruling by May 1 on its request to block the distribution of state funding under current formulas.

A changing of the guard is set at the civic arm of a prominent Chicago-based business organization that has worked to influence city and state action on their pension debt.

The wheels came off the so-called "grand bargain" deal for an Illinois budget Wednesday, which may bode poorly for the state's already low bond ratings.

The Illinois Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on tax hikes that would raise billions in new annual revenue as leaders press forward with their bipartisan "Grand Bargain" legislation aimed at ending the 20-month-old budget standoff.

Chicago Public Schools is warning that without state help or court intervention a $129 million shortfall may force it to end the school year early.

Chicago-based Pugh Jones & Johnson PC has hired veteran municipal attorney Brendan Cournane to round out its public finance team, a move the firm believes will further boost its evolution from a firm in the second seat to a player among lead bond counsel firms.

The prospect of swift legislative action to overhaul the Illinois education funding system appeared more remote Thursday, as the state House’s top Democrat announced of a new task force to come up with a plan.

Chicago-based Daniel A. Noyes & Co. has added three institutional sales professionals to its fixed-income team in Indianapolis, a move the firm believes cements its expansion into municipals.

The Chicago Board of Education approved an amended $5.4 billion fiscal 2017 budget that trims spending to plug about half of a $215 million budget gap created by a gubernatorial veto.

Mayors and the Illinois Municipal League will press state lawmakers this year to pass legislation merging some public safety pension fund functions and guaranteeing the flow of various revenue streams without a state budget in place.

The Chicago region's Regional Transportation Authority is well short of the funds it needs to address an estimated $37.7 billion 10-year tab for maintenance and capital investments.

Illinois legislation to establish a new borrowing program for home rule governments may look good on the surface, but won’t necessarily protect investors against a borrower’s general creditworthiness, according to Municipal Market Analytics

Chicago-based Roosevelt University’s rating was dropped further into junk territory over its ongoing enrollment struggles that haven’t been helped by the state budget impasse.

IIlinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed fiscal 2018 budget banks additional tax revenue from the so-called “grand bargain” to fund $37.3 billion of spending.

Calling passage of a compromise budget plan a matter of “political will,” Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner offered his support for an income tax increase and expanded sales tax as long as the deal permanently freezes local property taxes, caps spending, and overhauls worker’s compensation.

The Chicago Board of Education and a group of parents sued Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Board of Education, charging that the state’s funding system discriminates against its mostly minority student population.