Midwest

Moody's has hit well over a dozen Illinois municipal credits — led by Chicago and Cook County — with single and multiple notch downgrades over the last year primarily due to the strains of their unfunded pension liabilities.

Detroit's newest bondholder settlement calls for a 66% haircut for limited-tax general obligation bondholders, a deal that's severe but unsurprising given Detroit's credit, muni experts said.

Indiana should impose a new tax to raise revenue for transportation infrastructure, a blue ribbon panel has recommended to Gov. Mike Pence.

With its emergency manager warning of a possible bankruptcy, the city of Flint is hoping a temporary court ruling allowing it to cut retiree health care benefits will bring some relief to its 2015 budget.

Fitch Ratings dropped Cook County's general obligation rating by one notch to A-plus over the strain of its severely underfunded pension system.

Moody's Investors Service has revised Aurora Health Care Inc.'s outlook on its A3 rating to positive from stable in recognition of its improving performance.

The Illinois Supreme Court's decision that state constitutional protections of pension benefits apply to retiree healthcare premium subsidies "casts doubt" on recent local and state pension reform efforts, Moody's Investors Service said.

Syncora lost a key appeal in the Detroit bankruptcy case, giving the city continued access to crucial casino revenues.

Rating agencies affirmed Missouri's triple-A but warned they are watching the impact of income tax cuts and a ballot measure that could hurt the governor's power to cut budgeted spending when revenues falter.

Detroit's settlement with its limited-tax general obligation bondholders would repay them 34 cents on the dollar, the lowest recovery rate reached in a deal so far in the case.