Midwest

The Cincinnati City Council Wednesday narrowly approved a controversial plan to lease the city's parking system for an upfront payment to offset a budget shortfall - but a judge almost immediately issued an injunction to halt the deal.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said Wednesday he would not fight the state's plan to appoint an emergency financial manager to take over the city, just an hour after the city council formally requested a hearing to appeal the appointment.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn chided state lawmakers Wednesday for failing to tackle pension reform as he unveiled a $35.6 billion general fund budget for fiscal 2014.

The Ohio House last Thursday passed legislation that would allow the state to issue $1.5 billion of bonds backed by a new Ohio Turnpike credit.

Fitch Ratings last week affirmed its B rating on Midland University and revised its outlook to stable.

A new casino that opened Monday in Cincinnati, Ohio is expected to pressure nearby riverboat casinos in southeast Indiana, Moody's Investors Service said.

Moody's Investors Service stripped the long struggling East St. Louis school district which is under state oversight of its investment grade rating.

A judge last week agreed to allow a lawsuit to proceed that challenges Chicago's 99-year, $563 million lease of four downtown parking garages to a private consortium.

Indiana embarks on its first public-private partnership that is structured with availability payments next week as it borrows $641 million of private activity bonds for its half of the $2.6 billion, bi-state Ohio River Bridges project.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday vetoed a 2011 gambling expansion bill for lacking sufficient regulatory oversight and he warned that more revenue from additional gaming won't solve the state's pension crisis.