Midwest

The Illinois Finance Authority board advanced new-money and refunding deals planned by Northwestern Memorial Healthcare and the Franciscan Communities Inc. in the coming months.

Sycamore Advisors LLC, one of Indiana's top financial advisors, hired Courtney Tobin, a Georgia-based former Indiana public finance official, to help expand the firm's footprint in the southeast and Chicago.

Illinois lawmakers adjourned a lame-duck session after failing to fix the state's pension crisis, leaving the $95 billion unfunded pension mess to the newly inaugurated Illinois General.

Hours after Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council fired the city's corporation counsel, Bing said a state review team's decision about whether to take over the city could come as soon as Friday.

Ohio officials said Tuesday they have decided to move forward with a $1.5 billion bond sale to finance a 25-year privatization of the state liquor distribution system despite unresolved litigation that has stalled the bond sale for a year.

The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency hits the market Wednesday with $75 million of tax-exempt homeownership finance bonds that marks its third use a mortgage backed pass-through structure.

Moody’s last week upgraded to Aa3 from A1 its rating on Rapid City’s sales tax revenue bonds as the city prepares to come to market with the credit.

The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority last month authorized the issuance of $32 million of tax-exempt bonds for a new recycling plant in Cincinnati, marking the authority’s first federally tax-exempt financing for a recycling facility.

Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook on the junk bond rating of Chesterfield Valley Transportation Development District’s sales tax bonds to positive as the district expects to add new development this year.

Detroit-based law firm Dickinson Wright PLLC, Michigan's bond counsel, announced last week it acquired Phoenix-based Mariscal, Weeks, McIntyre & Friedlander PA.