Illinois

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's $6.5 billion 2013 budget easily won City Council approval as most members praised the plan for holding the line on taxes while holdouts voiced misgivings over police staffing and revenue projections.

The health of Illinois' pension system continued it downward spiral in the last fiscal year when unfunded liabilities rose by more than $11 billion and the funded ratio deteriorated to 40.4%, according to the Civic Federation of Chicago.

The Illinois Finance Authority advanced $430 Million in deals for projects planned by the University of Chicago Medical Center, Advocate Health Care Network, the Franciscan Communities, and the Big Ten Conference.

Standard & Poor's has lowered Centralia, Ill.'s general obligation rating by one notch to A-minus as the city grapples with red ink.

Oak Brook, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care Network will sell $150 million of new-money this week to finance projects including a new patient tower at one of its 10 Illinois hospitals.

The Cook County Board Friday approved a $3 billion, fiscal 2013 budget as the county prepares to come to market later this month with roughly $300 million of refunding bonds for interest-rate savings.

Illinois-based Centegra Health System will offer up $200 million of mostly refunding bonds Thursday as it seeks to lay the groundwork for future issuance to finance a new hospital.

Cook County announced it received a long-awaited federal approval for a so-called 1115 Medicaid waiver, allowing the county to expand its Medicaid program.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposed $6.5 billion corporate fund budget for 2013 won the endorsement of a local government fiscal watchdog group.

Illinois will need to contribute $6.8 billion toward its five pension funds in the next fiscal year, up by about $965 million in the current fiscal 2013 budget, the Chicago Civic Federation said.

Grigsby & Associates Inc. owner Calvin Grigsby faces a December hearing on accusations leveled by Illinois Secretary of State regulators over the firm's investment advice to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn prevailed in his feud with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel when Quinn’s communications chief, Kelly Kraft, was named executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.

Chicago will pursue three municipal marketing initiatives aimed at generating $18 million for the next city budget, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.

The Chicago Board of Education last week approved the new $295 million three-year contract with the Chicago Teachers Union

The Civic Federation of Chicago said it supports Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle's 2013 budget, but warns that uncertainty surrounds key revenue sources, and that a structural deficit remains.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois qualified 10 financial advisory firms to assist the agency on future bond deals and other fiscal transactions over the next five years.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has asked the Treasury Department to investigate whether it was appropriate to use Build America Bonds to help finance the construction of a large coal-fired plant known as Prairie State Energy Campus, which has experienced cost overruns and operational problems that are hurting municipalities, electric cooperatives and 2.5 million ratepayers across eight states.

Illinois faces a dire fiscal reckoning unless it acts sooner rather than later to tackle its mammoth unfunded pension obligations and make tough choices on taxation and spending, warns a new report from a national task force.

Elgin-Ill.-based Sherman Health System has signed a letter of intent to join Illinois' largest not-for-profit health care system Oak Brook, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies is launching a new initiative known as the Illinois Financing Roundtable with plans for a webcast to kickstart the effort set for Dec. 10.