Illinois

Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook on Decatur Memorial Hospital's A2 rating to negative from stable due to a downturn in its operating performance. The action applies to nearly $40 million of debt.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel last week announced a series of work rule changes, beginning the process that could lead to 625 layoffs to help erase red ink in the current city budget.

CHICAGO - The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will debut expanded pension disclosure and hold its first retail-order period this week when it sells of $400 million of general obligation bonds to finance projects in its $2.6 billion capital program.

CHICAGO - The Lombard, Ill., Public Facilities Corp. drew $1.5 million from reserves to complete July 1 debt service payments on a portion of its $187 million of bonds issued to help finance a hotel and conference center that is struggling to remain solvent.

CHICAGO - The new administration in Cook County, Ill., has picked its first bond team, relying almost exclusively on locally based and minority-owned firms.

CHICAGO - Keeping Midwestern municipal market professionals busy this summer, Chicago and Illinois have each launched a competitive selection process to complete updated pools of qualified firms to work on future negotiated bond sales.

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Loyola University Chicago's rating one level to A2 following the completion of the school's sale of its health system to Trinity Health on June 30.

Newly installed board members of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission — under fire for its oversight of the troubled College Illinois prepaid tuition program — voted Friday to oust its executive director, Andrew Davis.

CHICAGO - The Illinois Supreme Court Monday upheld the state's $31 billion public works program and the funding sources established to repay billions in borrowing, clearing the path for the planned sale of several billion dollars of new debt.

CHICAGO — While its revenues have picked up, Illinois still faces "staggering long-term financial challenges" as it carried $7.4 billion in unpaid obligations — including $3.8 billion in bills owed to schools, transit agencies, health care providers and others — into the new fiscal year, according to Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.

CHICAGO — Illinois collected $3.4 billion more in base revenue during fiscal 2011 than the previous year thanks mostly to an income tax hike approved midway through the year and aided by a recovering economy, according to a new report from the state's nonpartisan legislative commission.

Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady LLP has hired veteran bond attorney Scott Bremer as a partner in its Chicago office to help the firm as it seeks to expand its public finance practice to cover the state of Illinois and local government issuers here.

Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health has closed its acquisition of Chicago's Loyola University Health System in a deal that totals more than $1 billion.

Chicago's lobbyists — including public finance bankers, financial advisers, and lawyers who seek work on city bond sales — would face greater reporting requirements under a package of ethics reforms Mayor Rahm Emanuel will introduce to the City Council Wednesday.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board last week denied applications from two competing hospital systems seeking to build new facilities in the growing region north of Chicago in McHenry County.

Moody's Investors Service last week downgraded Northwest Community Hospital's rating one notch to A1 due to its weakened financial performance.

The managers of Chicago's Navy Pier last week unveiled a proposed $155 million framework for a makeover of the popular downtown attraction that includes plans for a hotel, new retail shops, restaurants, and expansions of the city's Children's Museum and Shakespeare Theater.

CHICAGO — Chicago could shore up its balance sheet by cutting employees, reducing future retirement benefits, slicing the City Council in half, and resurrecting efforts to lease Midway Airport, according to a new report from a Chicago-based government research group.

The newly merged Central DuPage Health-Delnor Health System last week announced the appointment of Brett Tande to be its vice president and treasurer. He left the private sector where he was a health care banker to join the new system this past spring.

Standard & Poor's this week affirmed its AA rating and stable outlook on Cook County, which has $3.5 billion of outstanding general obligation bonds.