Illinois

An Illinois judge said he intends to rule next week on whether Gov. Pat Quinn acted within his authority to strike legislative pay from the fiscal 2014 budget to pressure lawmakers on pension reforms.

A Cook County Circuit Court judge rejected Chicago's efforts to trim the size of a $58 million arbitration award won by the private operators of four downtown city and park district-owned parking garages.

Illinois Democratic gubernatorial candidate William Daley, former White House chief of staff, bowed out of his challenge to incumbent Pat Quinn, a fellow Democrat.

Standard & Poor's put Chicago on notice Monday that its A-plus general obligation rating faces a downgrade due to the size of its unfunded pension obligations and the strain of a looming $600 million spike in its pension contributions.

Less than half of state pension plans met Morningstar Inc.'s threshold for healthy status in 2012 with Wisconsin again ranking the strongest and Illinois the weakest.

The Illinois Finance Authority advanced borrowing plans by Presence Health and several other elementary and higher education institutions totaling more than $400 million this week.

A P3 involving Harrisburg’s parking assets would provide back-end revenue and avoid a Chicago-type fiasco in Pennsylvania’s capital, a receivership official said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel voiced support for his chief financial officer Lois Scott this week, following reports highlighting her past business ties to former comptroller Amer Ahmad, who faces federal corruption charges tied to his tenure as deputy Ohio Treasurer.

A political landscape marked by anti-privatization sentiments may have left Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel little choice but to drop the city's bid to lease Midway International.

Chicago cancelled its effort to privatize Midway International Airport after bidders dropped out and it became clear the city might not fetch the money it sought for the public-private partnership.

Midwestern financial advisory firm Columbia Capital Management LLC hired veteran public finance banker and advisor Courtney Shea to lead its push for Chicago area and state of Illinois business.

Increased debt service from Illinois’ recent round of borrowing is coming closer to exhausting revenues available in a special capital projects account, a report said.

Illinois' public universities are burdened by the weight of state inaction on pension reform, declining aid and tight in-state tuition regulations, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Moody's Investors Service has revised its outlook on Rush University Medical Center Obligated Group's A2 rating to positive from stable due to good operating margins.

Standard & Poor's raised the Illinois Housing Development Authority's issuer credit rating and all debt supported by its general obligation pledge to AA-minus.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded its rating on Cook County Forest Preserve to A1 from Aa2, driven by the district's mounting pension debt.

Former Chicago Comptroller Amer Ahmad – who faces federal corruption charges stemming from a previous job with the Ohio Treasurer -- played no role in city bond underwriting assignments, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.

The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a $6.6 billion budget for fiscal 2014 that dips deeply into reserves — including a first time draw on a debt service account — to help erase nearly $1 billion in red ink.

Moody's assigned a negative outlook to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago's A1 rating, citing fiscal pressures that include sexual misconduct settlements and rising cemetery maintenance liabilities.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago lost its top rating from Moody's over its growing unfunded pension burden, the latest in a series of downgrades to hit Chicago area governments.