Illinois

Some Chicago council members questioned Mayor Lori Lightfoot's plans to use federal funds to back off scoop-and-toss restructuring plans with the demand so high for more social and human services and anti-crime spending.

Illinois' tardy fiscal 2020 financial statements offer a view of COVID-19's early impact on the state's finances.

Sturdy contracts support repayment of AMP's Prairie State Energy Campus bonds but the coal-fired plant faces pressure from Illinois decarbonization legislation.

Rachael Eubanks, Suzanne Beitel, and Danielle Scott will receive Founders Awards at the Women in Public Finance conference set for Chicago next month.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency also affirmed the city’s general obligation bond rating at A.

While municipals were little changed, broader markets remain focused on Jackson Hole and speculating what will be said about tapering.

An uptick in new money borrowing fell far short of making up for a decline in refundings.

Automatic deposits would flow to the near empty rainy day and pension stabilization funds if the state government's unpaid bill backlog stays under $3 billion.

Illinois hits the market over the next month with $500 million of new money and refunding bonds under its sales-tax backed Build Illinois bond program

Refinancing savings and federal relief will fill Chicago's $1 billion 2021 hole while the city ponders how to erase a $733 million gap next year as its budget takes shape.

Former Markham, Illinois, Mayor David Webb Jr. was accused of pocketing bribes for a project financed with bonds. He also pled guilty to criminal charges.

Chicago is accepting underwriter qualifications as it updates its investment banking pool; it also delayed the bidding deadline for potential casino developers.

Illinois' single-employer pension plans are straining the budgets and ratings of those local governments without the tax base, flexiblity, and fiscal discipline to tackle rising costs, S&P says in a special report.

J.B. Pritzker signed legislation to move the Chicago Board of Education to an elected 21-member board from the seven-member panel now appointed by the mayor.

The district hopes to win back investment grade ratings by raising fund balances, a task that becomes harder after federal coronavirus relief is exhausted.

The hiring of an underwriter moves the city closer to a debt restructuring that is called for in a legal agreement with holders of defaulted bonds.

Federal relief and rising revenues drew a change in outlook from Moody's to stable from negative, but Moody's remains the only agency to rate Chicago at junk.

Michael Pagano, a "dean" of government finance with a national reputation, will hand the mantle as director of the university's Government Finance Research Center next month to Deborah Carroll.

The prominent Chicago health system's refunding will simplify its debt structure, cut interest rates, and provide longer-term fixed financing.

Chicago is looking for a financial advisor to help it assess casino development proposals due next month.