Illinois

Illinois made headway in paying down its bill backlog in fiscal 2014, bringing the total to under $5 billion for the first time in years, as state revenues showed growth on par with estimates.

The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is playing up the rare tax-exemption from state income taxes and sturdy repayment protections offered by its $285 million refunding that’s linked to the troubled state credit through an appropriation pledge.

One rating agency dropped Rock Island County, Ill. out of the double-A category while another boosted it into the upper ranks, providing a stark contrast in credit views.

The Chicago Infrastructure Trust hopes to launch a competitive selection process this fall for private partners in its third energy retrofit project – city outdoor lighting upgrades.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Tuesday a $1.1 billion bond-financed transportation package.

The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a nearly $6.8 billion budget even as some board members expressed reservations over the district's reliance on one-time manuevers to close a $900 million shortfall.

Illinois suffered a setback Wednesday when Standard & Poor's revised its outlook on the state's A-minus rating to negative, reflecting analysts' dim view of the state's new budget and concerns over whether retirement benefit reforms will withstand a legal test.

Illinois faces an additional $128 million tab for retiree health insurance due to the recent Illinois Supreme Court decision assigning constitutional protections to the benefits.

Moody's Investors Service lowered the University of Chicago's rating one level to Aa2 as the school prepares to take on more debt to further its long-term strategic plans that will strain cash flow over the next several years.

The Republican candidate for Illinois governor unveiled a proposal to overhaul the state's tax system that calls for phasing out the state's 2011 temporary income tax hike, expanding the sales tax, and freezing property taxes.

The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is hoping to bring a roughly $278 million refunding to market this summer as it looks to ease the challenges of managing an escalating debt service schedule with an economically sensitive revenue stream.

A second debt service payment default was triggered after the Lombard, Ill., board voted not to honor its appropriation commitment on a portion of $190 million of bonds issued for a struggling hotel and conference center.

Moody's has hit well over a dozen Illinois municipal credits — led by Chicago and Cook County — with single and multiple notch downgrades over the last year primarily due to the strains of their unfunded pension liabilities.

Fitch Ratings dropped Cook County's general obligation rating by one notch to A-plus over the strain of its severely underfunded pension system.

The Illinois Supreme Court's decision that state constitutional protections of pension benefits apply to retiree healthcare premium subsidies "casts doubt" on recent local and state pension reform efforts, Moody's Investors Service said.

The Illinois Finance Authority signed off on up to $700 million in new-money and refunding borrowing for the University of Chicago and a first time IFA approved borrowing by a college foundation to fund affordable student loan.

Erica Borggren, the Illinois director of veteran affairs, was named acting secretary of the Transportation Department following Ann Schneider's resignation after questions were raised over the department's hiring practices.

Chicago named one of its financial consultants, Martin J. Luby, as its independent registered municipal advisor to evaluate financing proposals as it seeks to comply with new regulations without stemming creative financing suggestions.

The Chicago Public Schools unveiled a proposed $5.7 billion fiscal 2015 budget that relies on a windfall of property tax dollars by extending its collection cycle into the next fiscal year to help wipe out a $900 shortfall.

Illinois retiree healthcare premium subsidies are protected by the state constitution, the Illinois Supreme Court concluded in a challenge that could foreshadow the fate of the state's more recent pension overhaul.