Illinois

A hotel tax that supports the authority's bonds has recovered strongly from the pandemic, the rating agency said.

So far, the temporary Bally's casino in Chicago has brought in about a quarter of the tax revenue it needs to generate to keep up with budget expectations.

Secondary trading showed clear strength across the yield curve Thursday with bellwether names trading up significantly from recent prints and original pricing levels. New-issues in the primary benefited with issuers repricing to lower yields and tight to triple-A curves.

The municipal bond rally has brought two big Illinois issuers into the market with plans to sell refunding bonds this week.

Joe Ferguson, who served as Chicago's inspector general under three mayoral administrations, replaces Laurence Msall, who died earlier this year.

The Plan of Action for Regional Transit asks lawmakers for $1.5 billion of new operating support for transit and at least $400 million annually of complementary capital investments.

The weakness came as the new-issue calendar grew to $5.9 billion with the addition of a $900 million refunding deal from the Illinois State Highway Toll Highway Authority slated for Thursday. Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply sits at $6.95 billion.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $1 billion.

The City Colleges of Chicago is planning to issue $201 million in unlimited tax GO refunding bonds, bolstered by an upgrade and a new positive rating outlook.

Illinois spreads tightened considerably after ratings upgrades earlier this year. The state saw up to 10 bidders on $875 million of taxable and tax-exempt GOs.

The city has made some important progress on the expenditure side, but the new mayor's first budget didn't make similar strides on revenues, according to Fitch.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $1 billion.

The upgrade brings Illinois up to the A-minus level across the board. The state had three BBB-minus or equivalent ratings as recently as July 2021.

October's total volume rose 29.3% to $37.156 billion in 661 issues from $28.738 billion in 614 issues a year earlier. New-money grew more than 30% while refundings were up by nearly 75%.

The whistleblower who brought the case, Minnesota-based municipal advisor Johan Rosenberg, will receive $14.4 million under the deal.

The Board of Education enters the market with two speculative grade ratings and one investment grade after affirmations from the agencies across the board.

Surpassing $150 million in total investments, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Arizona and Georgia have joined Florida, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties and Miami Beach in supporting Israel financially in the wake of the deadly terror attacks by Hamas.

The proposed spending plan includes the first chunk of money from the city's new casino, which will support underfunded police and fire pensions.

The total unfunded pension liability for all 50 states is expected to be $1.3 trillion for fiscal 2023, according to a Reason Foundation analysis.

Mesirow's public finance group will collaborate with the firm's institutional sales and trading team to offer clients defeasance and cash-flow management for their portfolios.