Illinois

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.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board signed off on a 2016 Budget that counts on $1.3 billion in revenues for maintenance, operations, debt service, and capital costs.

The Chicago Board of Education voted to move ahead with two borrowing items to help keep the struggling Chicago Public Schools afloat.

The College of DuPage, Ill. board chairwoman Kathy Hamilton, who spearheaded reform efforts that also led to the ouster of the college president and the school’s finance team, abruptly resigned.

The junk-rated Chicago Public Schools, on track to run out of cash next month, will add $120 million to its delayed $1 billion bond sale and dip into a new credit line for another $130 million.

Chicago Teachers’ Union members overwhelming authorized a strike in a vote taken last week.

Illinois’ release of motor fuel tax, gambling, and emergency surcharge revenues to local governments is a positive credit move for municipalities, says Moody’s Investors Service.

The Illinois Finance Authority isn’t quite ready to sell a proposed $115 million state moral-obligation backed financing to speed up overdue payments for essential goods and services.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan suggested that recently expired income tax rates offer a good starting point in negotiations over the role of revenue in solving a roughly $5 billion budget deficit.

A Southwestern Illinois flood prevention agency wrapped up borrowing this week to support its efforts to bring the American Bottom levee system up to snuff to offer 500-year flood protection.