Illinois

The University of Chicago went to market this week, as the Trump administration has targeted higher education and faculty criticize budget and program cuts.

Midwest municipal bond volume surged more than 29% year-over-year to $46.05 billion for the first half of 2025.

Auditor General Frank Mautino said the delay was due largely to $1.2 billion erroneously collected from pharmaceutical companies that had to be addressed.

With Chicago-area transit's fiscal cliff looming, the area's transit agencies are searching for revenue fixes and prepping for two key milestones this fall.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed pension legislation that will put Chicago on the hook for an additional $60 million in its fiscal 2026 budget.

Kostas Poulakidas has joined Greenberg Traurig's Chicago office. He builds the firm's public finance and infrastructure and government law and policy practices.

A 2024 Illinois law changing sales tax distributions has ramifications for the fiscal cliff facing Chicago-area public transit agencies.

The Illinois Municipal Electric Agency agreed with 29 of its 32 members on new contracts that last until 2055, but the holdouts include two large customers.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker led governors from 18 states in demanding the Trump administration release $6.8 billion in education funding.

A 2024 Illinois law loosened school bond restrictions, allowing districts to authorize some debt without an election. That caused a backlash in one district.

Tim Ruby has joined Wells Fargo as its healthcare, higher education and not-for-profit division executive. He will be based in Chicago.

The Harris School of Public Policy is launching a new course, "Careers in Municipal Finance," designed to grow the public finance talent pipeline.

Yorkville, Illinois, defaulted on special district bonds for Kendall Marketplace, a shopping center that never evolved into the expected retail powerhouse.

Chicago had a $161 million deficit in fiscal year 2024, according to the annual comprehensive financial report the city released on Monday.

Soon after it sold $687.3 million of bonds, Chicago returned to market with $82.55 million for housing and economic development in a deal set to close Monday.

Cook County faces a general fund budget gap of $102.6 million in 2026, and many grants are at risk under the new White House and Republican-controlled Congress.

The wait for finished audits dropped across municipal sectors from 2022 to 2023, a new report says, but the median time is still higher in the long run.

Chicago is facing myriad headwinds. But its GO bond sale last week was oversubscribed and city officials said that allowed them to lower yields in repricing.

The Illinois General Assembly sent Chicago transit agencies closer to the fiscal cliff, adjourning without sending a funding bill to Gov. JB Pritzker.

Chicago goes to market next week with $517.95 million of taxable and tax-exempt general obligation bonds following a downward outlook revision from Fitch.