Ohio

Cincinnati-based Dinsmore & Shohl LLP has hired public finance attorney Matthew Miller to bolster its Chicago office.

Ohio voters shot down 13 of 17 levy requests by school districts in the recent election, a series of defeats that Moody's Investors Service warns could mean pressure the fiscal positions of several of the districts.

Voters in Cleveland, Ohio Tuesday will weigh in on a $200 million bond issue that would replenish a 13-year old capital plan for one of the state's largest school districts.

Midwestern voters head to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of a handful of finance-related ballot questions and the leadership of eight states, including several where debate over fiscal pressures is taking center stage.

Ohio has launched what officials say is a first-of-its-kind program that creates a new state-backed credit for local government note issuers.

Three more Midwestern issuers have said that they can redeem Build America Bonds issued in 2010 because their subsidy payments from the federal government have been reduced due to sequestration.

Pension reform enacted in 2013 has helped Ohio offset some of the stress tied to falling pension funding ratios, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The Ohio State University, one of the largest schools in the country, is pondering the issuance of $150 million of century bonds, which would mark its second 100-year debt sale to date.

Ohio Auditor David Yost last week testified before the Government Accounting Standards Board that asking local governments to disclose their retiree health care liability would exaggerate the amount of debt of Ohio municipalities.

An affordable-housing project for elderly renters near Dayton, Ohio marks the first use of Freddie Mac's new direct purchase tax-exempt note program that allows borrowers to privately place their debt with Freddie.

A group of ratepayers from a Chicago suburb are suing five advisors and consultants, accusing them of misrepresenting the value of participation in the bond-financed Prairie State Energy Campus to the city of Batavia.

Ratepayers from a Chicago suburb will file a lawsuit as soon as Tuesday seeking compensation for steep energy rate hikes they've paid due to cost overruns at the bond-financed Prairie State Energy Campus coal-fired power plant.

Borrowing by Midwest issuers slid 13.2% for the first half of 2014 but new-money issuance fueled by Chicago and Illinois deals helped boost new-money by 16.8%.

Fitch Ratings Monday downgraded Lorain County, Ohio, warning that the county has shown problems balancing its budget and seen some economic weakening.

Opponents of the Atlanta Braves' $672 million stadium in Cobb County intervened in the proceeding to validate $397 million of bonds for the new Major League Baseball facility.

PNC Capital Markets has brought in a pair of public finance professionals to help build up its Ohio business.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Executive Ed FitzGerald, who is running for governor, wants Cleveland's three professional sports teams to earn some of the tax revenue earmarked for the stadiums by winning more games.

Two more Ohio school districts have disclosed they are authorized to redeem BABs they issued in 2010 because of reduced subsidy payments due to sequestration.

Columbus Ohio is selling nearly $300 million in top-grade general obligation paper in a competitive sale Wednesday as part of the city's annual new-money borrowing.

Ohio's controversial income-tax overhaul legislation, which critics have said could hurt local governments, is on hold until after November elections.