Midwest

The underfunding of public pensions by Chicago and Illinois puts much bigger burdens on their balance sheets than what national counterparts face, Moody's Investors Service says.

IIlinois' pension funds failed in three of the previous 10 years to earn sufficient returns to make the arbitrage play on work in the state's favor on its $10 billion general obligation pension bond issue from 2003.

Wisconsin's revenue collections fell about 2% or $281 million short of previous estimates, state officials reported late last month.

Standard & Poor's lowered by two levels its rating on LaSalle, Illinois’ general obligation rating to reflect it revised rating criteria and its negative fund balance.

A Missouri state audit found the Grandview School District in Missouri misused some proceeds from some of its $22 million worth of borrowing in recent years.

McGuire Woods LLP has hired Kay McNab, a municipal finance and bank lending legal specialist, to bolster its Midwestern public finance and banking businesses.

Detroit's first witness in its bankruptcy trial, CFO John Hill, testified that the city's confirmation plan would mean more money for the struggling city but that meeting some of the revenue targets could be difficult.

Chicago is readying about $700 million of water and wastewater revenue bonds for sale, pressing with investors the credits' mostly double-A level ratings that's distinct from its battered general obligation standing.

Three Detroit hospitals announced that they have closed a merger that creates a $3.8 billion system that's the largest health care provider in southeast Michigan.

The three counties around Detroit objected to the city's bankruptcy exit plan, arguing that the proposed treatment of the massive Detroit Water and Sewerage Department would spell catastrophe for the aging system.