Midwest

Lombard, Ill.'s refusal to cover a debt service shortfall on $190 million of bonds issued for a struggling hotel and conference center has triggered a new payment default.

North Dakota will weather slumping oil prices and will continue to spend money on badly needed infrastructure in oil-producing counties, Gov. Jack Dalrymple said Tuesday in his state of the state address.

Illinois and Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner face a sea of red ink because shrinking income tax revenue will fail to keep pace with rising pension and health insurance costs, according to outgoing Gov. Pat Quinn's latest three-year budget forecast.

The last remaining stand-alone non-profit hospital in southeast Michigan has signed a letter of intent to merge with the largest non profit health care system in the country.

Illinois Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner named Leslie Geissler Munger to serve the new term of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, who died last month after her re-election.

More questions over whether the National Football League's Rams will remain in St. Louis were raised Monday by reports that the team's owner is planning to construct an 80,000-seat stadium in southern California as part of a larger development project.

New Trier Township High School District 203 will soon offer nearly $90 million of voter approved bonds to finance an overhaul of its New Trier High School that serves the affluent north suburbs of Chicago.

Chicago faces a second lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of reforms adopted last year that overhauled two of its four pension funds.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into law a pair of bills to create a large tax-free industrial zone in Detroit, an effort that supporters say will boost employment and investment in the city.

Kalamazoo, the latest in a series of local Michigan governments borrowing to cover retirements obligations, is expected to sell $90 million of bonds this week to pay off a chunk of its OPEB liability.