Midwest

The Cincinnati City Council last week approved a measure to issue up to $28 million of bonds to finance infrastructure improvements around a future casino.

Omaha will retain its triple-A ratings from Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service as it heads to market next week with $23.8 million of general obligation bonds.

Miller Canfield attorney Michael McGee has been tapped to serve on the board of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, an independent research group, for the 2011-12 term, the firm announced Monday.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last week signed into law a measure that will allow Highland Park to refinance and provide additional security for its outstanding financial recovery bonds.

The Illinois Department of Revenue will hold off on any further actions that strip nonprofit hospitals of their property tax exemption for failing to provide sufficient charity care, while state officials and hospitals engage in talks that could lead to legislation setting minimum charity thresholds.

CHICAGO - Illinois is gearing up to issue $1 billion of new-money debt before the end of the year to support its $31 billion capital budget, deals that are taking shape amid a fiscal picture that is more stable than a year ago after an income tax increase but facing renewed headwinds.

CHICAGO - Minnesota lost its final triple-A rating Friday when Standard & Poor's lowered its rating one notch to AA-plus as it chided the state for its continued reliance on one-time financial maneuvers to deal with its budget deficit.

CHICAGO - Moberly, Mo., lost its investment-grade rating last week after it declined to make good on its appropriation pledge on $39 million of revenue bonds issued for a Chinese company's troubled artificial sweetener factory.

CHICAGO - Ann Arbor in on track to become the first city in Michigan to launch a bond-backed energy efficiency program authorized in state legislation adopted last year.

CHICAGO - With a sizable bond issue coming, Fitch Ratings hit Cook County, Ill., with a downgrade to AA-minus from AA and revised its outlook to negative at the lower rating, warning that the nation's second-largest county faces persistent fiscal challenges.