Illinois

An Illinois committee tasked with crafting a pension overhaul holds its first public meeting, while the Gov. Pat Quinn says the state's $1.3 billion GO sales demonstrates the price of its bad credit ratings.

Illinois' weakened fiscal condition and battered ratings translate in steep borrowing penalties but won't lead to a default any time soon, a new academic research paper asserts.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence opened a forum aimed at luring private contractor and investment interest in a proposed $1.3 billion expressway linking the two states.

A pension reform plan endorsed by leaders of Illinois' public universities and touted as a potential model for an overhaul of the state's other funds received a hearing last week.

Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has asked the state Attorney General to investigate Washington Park due to its failure to submit annual financial reports for the last seven years.

The Illinois debt manager and finance team have met with more than 100 investors over the last week ahead of a $1.3 billion general obligation sale into a jittery market.

Illinois' overall fiscal health reflected in the value of its net assets worsened in fiscal 2012 by $3 billion, pushing it to a negative $46.6 billion, although the pace of deterioration slowed.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn wants legislative action on a pension reform bill by July 9, giving the conference committee set up Wednesday three weeks to fashion a package.

Illinois lawmakers convene a special session on pension reform Wednesday but the only action expected is the formation of a special conference committee to fashion a compromise plan.

Moody's Investors Service pushed the struggling Proctor Hospital's rating further down into junk bond territory, lowering the Illinois hospital three levels and warning of further deterioration.

After a failed stab at asking state lawmakers to extend a teacher pension payment holiday, Chicago Public Schools announced a new round of cuts Friday as the district carves away at a $1 billion deficit in its next budget.

The federal government has formally invited Chicago to apply for a $292 million loan to help finance its new $884 million intermodal facility at O'Hare International Airport.

The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority has launched a search for underwriters to help refund or restructure its debt.

Illinois lawmakers handed the Illinois Finance Authority some additional financing tools.

Illinois captured about $55 million in savings on its $600 million refunding Tuesday of high-grade sales-tax backed paper.

The ratings of Illinois' eight public universities and their collective $2.5 billion of debt face a potential downgrade over exposure to the state's fiscal woes, Moody's investors Service warned.

For the second year in a row, Cook County, which includes Chicago, has released its annual audit on time after failing to do so for more than a decade.

A lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court against the Illinois Department of Revenue claims changes made in 2012 to the state's charity care law that governs not-for-profit hospitals violates the state constitution.

Chicago's motor fuel tax credit took its second ratings hit in a week with Moody's Investors Service dropping its rating one level to Baa1 over exposure to Illinois.

Illinois set the last week of June for its planned sale of $1.25 billion of new-money under its battered general obligation credit and demand for project funding is too great to pull the sale over negative headwinds said John Sinsheimer.