Illinois

CHICAGO — Chicago enters the market this week with $251 million of second-lien Midway International Airport bonds to refund outstanding commercial paper and wrap up financing for a new consolidated rental car facility.

CHICAGO — Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s have revised their outlooks on the Chicago Board of Education’s bonds to negative. They cited escalating financial challenges as the district prepares to sell $418 million of new money on Wednesday and a $243 million refunding to restructure debt next week.

Fitch Ratings dropped the Chicago Board of Education's general obligation rating one level to A-plus Thursday due to mounting fiscal challenges from state aid delays and the looming expiration of federal aid and pension relief that helped close a fiscal 2011 deficit.

CHICAGO — Chicago-based BMO Capital Markets has hired senior public finance health care banker David Johnson and three of his colleagues from Ziegler Capital Markets for its merged higher education and health care practices, and named a fouth colleague to lead its strategy and analytics efforts.

CHICAGO — In a stark illustration of Illinois’ deteriorating balance sheet, the state ended the first quarter of fiscal 2011 with $5.5 billion in overdue bills and faces a possible structural deficit of at least $15 billion in the next fiscal year if no action is taken, Comptroller Dan Hynes warned in his quarterly report.

CHICAGO — The ratings of joint power agencies with an ownership interest in the Illinois-based Prairie State coal-fired plant are expected to withstand the burden of incurring an additional $1 billion for cost overruns, but further problems could have a negative impact, Fitch Ratings writes in a report due out today on the project.

CHICAGO — The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority of Illinois will enter the market next week with nearly $1.2 billion of mostly refunding revenue bonds in the first phase of a debt portfolio restructuring intended to provide near-term fiscal relief and long-term financial stability.

WASHINGTON — Cook County, Ill., officials say while they are striving to improve the timeliness of their secondary market disclosures, the process of coordinating financial information among different offices and departments is both challenging and time consuming.

CHICAGO — Illinois has picked Public Financial Management Inc. to serve as financial adviser and Citi and Barclays Capital to lead a team of 11 broker-dealers on its sale of up to $1.75 billion of tobacco bonds planned for later this year to provide budgetary relief, sources said.

CHICAGO — Illinois hospitals pump more than $75.1 billion into the state’s economy annually and provide about $4.9 billion in community benefits, including $500 million in charity care, a new report from the Illinois Hospitals Association asserts.

CHICAGO — Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday warned Illinois that its A1 general obligation rating is at risk for a downgrade due to escalating strains from massive pension obligations, reliance on one-times revenues, and an increasing debt load amid a fragile economic recovery.

CHICAGO — A federal bankruptcy court judge on Tuesday approved Senior Care Development LLC’s $40 million bid to purchase two Chicago area bond-financed continuing care retirement communities although the size of a final payout for bondholders remains unclear.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday paved the way for a Chicago Public Schools sale of up to $800 million of new-money and refunding general obligation debt and qualified school construction bonds as soon as next month to help pay for the 2011 capital budget and ease an operating deficit.

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Wednesday announced the selection of Northstar Lottery Group to privately manage and expand the Illinois Lottery. The deal is expected to raise $1.1 billion over the next five years for education and to repay bonds issued to support the state’s $31 billion capital program.

CHICAGO — The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois board on Wednesday tapped its chief financial officer, Joe Costello, to serve as interim executive director beginning next month until a replacement for retiring director Stephen Schlickman is found.

CHICAGO — Cook County, Ill., is expected to refund $121 million of general obligation bonds next week in what will likely be the last financing under outgoing board President Todd Stroger.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance ­Authority board advanced plans for Navistar International Corp. to borrow $145 million using recovery zone facility bonds for its new DuPage County corporate headquarters, though the financing hinges on the successful pooling of local ­government bond allocations from the stimulus program.

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council Wednesday approved up to $1 billion of new-money and refunding debt that will help the city keep its $8 billion O’Hare International Airport expansion project on track as negotiations with the airlines over upcoming projects continue.

CHICAGO – Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said Tuesday he would not seek a seventh term next year in a stunning announcement for the city’s political and business worlds that stands to shakeup its longstanding relationships in the public finance community.

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee Tuesday advanced the sale of up to $1 billion of new-money and refunding O’Hare International Airport revenue bonds and debt backed by passenger facility charges to raise funds for the second phase of an $8 billion expansion that has yet to win airline approval.