Illinois

CHICAGO — Former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has joined Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP — the top-ranked legal firm for city bond deals ­­— in an of counsel role in which the firm intends to draw on his experience and relationships to bolster its continued growth, officials announced Wednesday.

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday called a massive expansion of gambling approved by lawmakers this week “excessive” and the fiscal 2012 budget “unfinished” because it leaves billions of dollars in bills unpaid and cuts education funding.

CHICAGO — Illinois lawmakers entered the homestretch of their annual regular session this week facing a crowded agenda topped by budget questions, including whether to use borrowing to pay down bills — a debate that prompted a threat from the treasurer to call investors and warn them against buying state bonds.

CHICAGO — At its first meeting presided over by new Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago City Council on Wednesday approved his first major piece of legislation: a council reorganization.

CHICAGO — The Illinois attorney general’s office and lawyers for a liquor distributor squared off before the state Supreme Court this week over whether the state’s 2009 $31 billion public works program — and the funding streams approved to repay bonding for it — are legal.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Public Schools’ chief financial officer, Diana Ferguson, has resigned her position effective next week, but will continue to work on a pro bono basis until a replacement is named, officials said this week.

CHICAGO — After more than two decades in office, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on Monday hands the reins over to Rahm Emanuel, leaving behind a legacy highlighted by major bond-financed projects and infrastructure investment, but marred by the city’s daunting fiscal challenges.

CHICAGO — Illinois lawmakers should reject much of Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed $52.7 billion fiscal 2012 budget because it leaves a $2.4 billion operating shortfall and relies too heavily on an expensive borrowing scheme to pay off billions of dollars in overdue bills, a local tax policy group recommended Monday.

CHICAGO — The Lombard Public Facilities Corp. in Illinois is exploring its options to buy more time for business to pick up at its bond-financed hotel and conference center after too few investors were willing to tender their bonds at the agency’s asking price.

CHICAGO — The new administration running Cook County, Ill., continued to fill out its top financial team last week with the appointment of a new budget director and a new deputy director of ­finance.

CHICAGO — The University of Chicago Medical Center will enter the market with $182 million of debt beginning next week to wrap up its planned borrowing for a new hospital pavilion that will house its complex-care services.

CHICAGO — Illinois could end the fiscal year owing more than $8 billion in bills, a level that underscores the need to cut spending in order to stabilize its balance sheet, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka warned Wednesday.

CHICAGO — The political landscape of fiscally stressed governments is an increasingly important factor as analysts assess a credit’s risk, a panel of municipal analysts said in here last week.

CHICAGO — Warning of the threat posed to its long-term fiscal stability, the Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois is leading a charge against state legislation that would aid retailers and other businesses seeking to avoid paying some local sales taxes by setting up shell offices elsewhere.

CHICAGO — The Lombard Public Facilities Corp. in Illinois has extended until Thursday its tender invitation to holders of $144 million of revenue bonds issued to help finance its hotel and conference center.

CHICAGO — Philadelphia-based PNC Capital Markets LLC has hired Kevin Hoecker from Chicago-based financial advisory firm Scott Balice Strategies LLC to lead its push for a bigger chunk of business from Illinois borrowers and their neighbors.

With an airline lawsuit behind it and structural tinkering completed, Chicago will enter the market this week with $1.1 billion of mostly new-money revenue bonds to finance the next phase of projects under an $8 billion expansion program at O'Hare International Airport.

CHICAGO — Drawing deeply from the public finance industry well, Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday announced a finance team led by advisory professional Lois Scott and supported by a project finance lawyer and public sector banker, both with previous government experience.

CHICAGO — Two senior staff members of the Illinois Housing Development Authority have moved into leadership roles, with longtime general counsel Mary Kenney taking over as executive director, and deputy chief financial officer Hazim Taib replacing Robert Kugel in the agency’s top fiscal post.

CHICAGO — Chicago-based financial adviser Lois Scott — a co-founder of Scott Balice Strategies LLC — will leave the firm to join Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s administration as the city’s top fiscal officer when he takes office next month, several public finance sources said Monday.