Illinois

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.

Issuers in the Midwest sold $87.2 billion of municipal bonds in 2016, a 23.4% year-over-year increase that was the biggest of any region.

Multiple tax hikes, strict spending limits, and borrowing to pay off old bills are all needed to dig Illinois out of its deep fiscal hole, the Chicago Civic Federation warned.

Chicago is stepping up a long-stalled effort to establish an express rail service from downtown Chicago to O'Hare International Airport, its mayor said.

The Illinois Senate passed along party lines three of the 11 bills that make up a proposed “Grand Bargain” budget fix before a fourth on pension reforms failed as a rift over the timing of the votes prompted Republicans to yank their support.

Chicago-based Mesirow Financial Inc. is tapping its capital markets division president Dominick Mondi to serve as company president.

Tucked into the Illinois Senate's "Grand Bargain" budget legislation is a bill to authorize a new type of local government bond that would benefit Chicago and other home rule communities.