Midwest

Illinois will take competitive bids Thursday on $50 million of general obligation bonds in its first sale of the new fiscal year that comes after the state's latest downgrade due to pressing fiscal challenges led by legislative gridlock on pension reforms.

Chicago Public Schools' teachers went on strike for the first time in 25 years Monday with market participants closely watching to assess the fiscal impact of an eventual resolution on the cash-strapped district while also gauging the national ramifications for governments facing labor strife and the November elections.

Three groups have filed complaints stating that federal approval for the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project should be thrown out because laws were violated.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Friday declared the Detroit suburb of Allen Park to be in a state of fiscal emergency, due in part to the city's struggle to pay $31 million of general obligation bonds issued for a now-failed film studio project.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois has hired former Chicago revenue director Bea Reyna-Hickey as its CFO, filling the position left vacant by Grace Galluci's departure to run the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

One of the Midwest's top bond counsel firms, Missouri-based Gilmore & Bell has opened a new Nebraska office in Omaha, staffed by a trio of public finance attorneys who join the firm from competitor Baird Holm LLP.

St. Louis-based Ascension Health Alliance is advancing plans to acquire Oklahoma-based Marian Health System, the parent of three regional not-for-profit healthcare organizations in the mid and central states.

Iowa has formally landed Egyptian-based Orascom Construction Industries' proposed $1.4 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant which has filed an initial application to tap up to $1.2 billion of Midwestern Disaster Bond financing.

A week after hearing oral arguments, the state Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon ruled that three of four high-profile referendums should appear on the November ballot. All three could have long-lasting impact on the state's future if approved.

The Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority next week is refunding $61 million of revenue bonds for interest rate savings.