Illinois

High yields and a statutory lien on state aid are what the junk-rated Chicago Public Schools offer investors willing to overlook its precarious cash ledger, bleak budget outlook, and downward credit spiral.

Standard & Poor's socked the already junk-rated Chicago Board of Education with a two-notch downgrade Friday as the fiscally embattled district prepares to come to market later this month.

Illinois paid higher yield penalties than it did before its budget fell into gridlock when it competitively priced a $480 million general obligation issue.

The Chicago City Council signed off on a $2.45 billion borrowing package that was temporarily trimmed by $800 million due to council members’ questions over capital projects and the administration’s swap termination plans.

Pricing results on Chicago’s $500 million general obligation refunding and restructuring bond pricing Monday showed narrower spread penalties for the first such deal from the city since a large property tax increase.

The Chicago City Council votes as soon as Wednesday on more than $2.6 billion of bonding after a day-long finance hearing in which aldermen forced Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration to downsize a GO bond request.

The lack of supply to meet demand – especially for yield – is seen as benefitting Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and Illinois when all three fiscally distressed credits land in the bond market during the next two weeks.

Standard & Poor’s bumped Memorial Group Inc. out of junk territory thanks to support provided by the stronger rated BJC Healthcare system.

Illinois’ not-for-profit hospitals are facing new uncertainty over their local tax exemptions and charity care obligations after an appellate court voided a 2012 law governing their community benefit requirements.

Illinois political dysfunction that’s driven a more than six-month-old fiscal 2016 budget stalemate won’t alone drive a downgrade, Standard & Poor’s says in a new report.

Chicago will offer its long planned $500 million general obligation refunding next week with plans for another $3.6 billion of new money, refunding, and restructuring GO and revenue-backed borrowing in its 2016 pipeline.

Illinois’ first bond offering statement in 20 months lays out a trove of warnings about the state’s stressed fiscal condition, from failed pension reforms and budget gridlock to its weakened credit and negative swap valuations.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s task force on local government consolidation and unfunded mandates offered 27 recommendations to streamline government operations.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said if legislation subjecting local mayors to recall elections passes, he would sign it.

Standard & Poor’s is warning Chicago that analysts are watching to see how the city copes with a potentially bigger pension payment should its push for state relief falter.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois kicks off the New Year with a rare new money borrowing as it looks to avoid state-related credit fallout.

With a fresh default on debt service looming, Lombard, Ill., wants bondholders to buy into a proposed restructuring of its $190 million of hotel/conference center debt.

Illinois returns to the market in January with a $480 million bond deal after a 20-month absence during which its ratings fell and its unpaid bill backlog skyrocketed, and with a state budget six months overdue.

The Chicago Public Schools’ cash crisis triggered a new downgrade that market participants say could scare off some buyers and further drive up its already steep spread premiums.

The Federal Trade Commission has moved to block the proposed merger of Illinois-based Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University Health System citing to anti-competition concerns.