Illinois

Illinois opened its new legislative session Wednesday with a renewed warning from Fitch Ratings that the clock is ticking on a possible downgrade if lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner can’t break their budget stalemate.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel isn’t happy with Moody’s Investors Service, so he’s trying to make the rating agency go away.

Chicago is conducting a full court press with investors this week to promote a $1.16 billion general obligation bond sale.

An overhaul meant to save Chicago's municipal employees' and laborers' pension funds from looming insolvency won state Senate approval Monday but faces veto threat.

Illinois Senate leaders said they will work to pass by Feb. 1 their so-called "grand bargain" plan aimed at breaking the year-and-a-half old budget logjam that's driven the state's unpaid bill backlog to $11 billion and dragged its ratings down to the lowest among states.

Chicago receives $1.1 billion of federal rail grants in final days of Obama administration.

Illinois’ third consecutive annual population loss poses a credit negative that underscores weak economic growth, Moody’s Investors Service said Wednesday.

The Illinois Institute of Technology is at risk of losing its investment grade rating after a negative outlook revision.

Former Illinois budget director Tim Nuding has landed at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association.

The Chicago Transit Authority hits the market as soon as Tuesday with $325 million of sales tax receipts revenue bonds under a new second lien.

The harmful effects of a repeal of the federal Affordable Care Act without a replacement package to soften the blow would extend beyond hospitals to lllinois' economy, according to the state hospital association.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority heads into the New Year with a $1.7 billion budget that includes $300 million of borrowing to finance projects in the sixth year of its $12 billion, 15-year capital program.

Illinois is losing its budget director, Tim Nuding.

Full repeal of the Affordable Care Act may cut hospital revenue by close to $400 billion over the next 10 years, putting pressure on healthcare bond ratings and state and local budgets.

Chicago returns to the market in January with a $1.14 billion general obligation deal that should benefit from the stabilization of three of its bond ratings.

An Illinois school district under federal scrutiny for its past misuse of bond proceeds saw its rating fall to junk as Moody’s Investors Service lowered the Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 one notch to Ba1.

Lured by opinions and ratings endorsing its bankruptcy-remote structure and a still steep yield penalty, investors snapped up Chicago Public Schools’ A-rated capital improvement tax bonds.

Plans to upgrade Chicago’s streetlamp system are advancing with the launch of a public lighting demonstration ahead of a deadline early next year for final submissions from shortlisted private partners.

The Illinois Regional Transportation Authority Thursday will consider a $3 billion operating budget and $5.1 billion five-year capital plan that boosts spending next year but still falls far short of its needs as a new state capital program languishes amid the ongoing budget impasse.

Illinois’ passage of a rate hike package to help keep open Exelon Generation Co. LLC’s nuclear plants in the state is a credit positive for the company, Moody’s Investors Service said.