Illinois

Chicago would raise its contributions to its laborers’ pension fund by at least 30% annually under a new plan to stabilize the fund and steer it away from its path to insolvency.

Chicago heads into the market with $350 million of Midway Airport revenue paper, bolstered by an upgrade and viewed as well-insulated from the city’s financial troubles.

The health of Chicago's municipal and laborer's funds further eroded over the last year with another $3 billion of unfunded liabilities being dumped on to the city's pension tab, according to new 2015 actuarial reports.

The mayor of Harvey, Ill. has agreed to pay $10,000 and to never participate in a municipal bond offering again in order to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he helped the city mislead bond investors by diverting proceeds from projects for which they were intended.

The Chicago City Council on Wednesday approved $600 million of new money general obligation borrowing along with new rules that require greater oversight of more complex financings such as those with interest-rate swaps.

The use of “social impact bonds” as an alternative financing tool is on the rise and news that Chicago’s first venture into the space will pay off for investors demonstrates the benefits, market participants said.

Municipal bond market participants may agree that bank loan disclosure falls short but there's little consensus about how to improve it amid heightened regulatory scrutiny.

An Illinois city is currently under audit for $12.8 million of general obligation corporate purpose bonds it issued seven years ago.

Chicago is moving to finalize the new money piece of an up to $1.25 billion general obligation bond sale.

Columbia Capital Management LLC has added Courtney Shea to its ownership team.

Allegations of securities violations against Calvin Grigsby should be dismissed, an Illinois hearing officer recommended in a case that stemmed from his firm Grigsby & Associates advising a state agency to invest in a bank that later failed.

Illinois lawmakers head into the homestretch of their regular session with growing anticipation for the results of two bipartisan budget working groups trying to reach agreements and break an almost 11-month-old budget impasse.

The Cook County, Ill. board advanced new money and refunding borrowing plans and two major development projects.

Investors snapped up Chicago's $537 million water revenue bond issue, allowing the city to trim the steep interest penalties its bonds typically face.

K-12 education could be the next victim of the political quagmire enveloping the Illinois budget.

Chicago closes the door on a $2.2 billion downgrade-driven liquidity crisis by selling $535 million of water revenue-backed paper in a deal that sheds bank credit and counterparty risk.

The Chicago Summer Business Institute has 200 applications from high school students looking for an entrance to the business world but only 100 paid internship openings — a shortage organizers say highlights the need for an upcoming fundraiser.

The junk-rated Chicago Public Schools doesn't meet any of five state criteria to warrant further state intervention, the Illinois State Board of Education has found.

A constitutional amendment protecting transportation revenue is headed to Illinois voters, but questions on redistricting and a graduated income tax rate fell by the wayside.

A Chicago-based investment advisor faces jail time after pocketing more than $4 million from the sale of phony Chicago-backed securities that she described as "Chicago Anticipatory Notes."