Midwest

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. has preliminarily agreed to pay a penalty and disgorge ill-gotten gains to settle SEC charges that it misled five Wisconsin school districts, which ultimately lost $200 million from investments that failed during the financial crisis.

The Chicago City Council will vote Wednesday on $3.5 billion of airport borrowing.

Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, one of the largest healthcare systems in Southeast Michigan, hits the market with an $821 million refunding next week sporting an upgrade from one rating agency and a positive outlook shift from another.

Restructuring the debt of Chicago and Illinois would entail about two years of unpleasant headlines, but the city and the state will rebound far sooner and less painfully than if they stay on their current paths.

Chicago's plan to rescue its largest pension fund with the help of a new water and sewer tax cleared a City Council committee despite complaints about the tax’s impact and concerns it doesn’t fully solve the fund’s crisis.

Indiana will receive an upfront payment of $50 million under terms of a proposed deal to lease the state’s communications infrastructure, including its existing cell towers, to a Canton, Ohio –based private operator.

Veteran Chicago-based public finance tax specialist Scott Bremer has joined The Hardwick Law Firm LLC, a hire the minority-owned hopes will bolster its market position in Illinois and beyond.

Indiana State University heads into the market Wednesday with an $82 million issue, a portion of which will fund renovations to its health and human service building.

DuPage County, Illinois lost a triple-A rating because of its limited revenue flexibility and growth prospects that are now given greater weight under revised rating criteria.

Wisconsin’s bigger municipalities are faring better fiscally than their smaller neighbors, says a report from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.