Midwest

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard last week announced a plan to build a $15 million parking garage financed in part with proceeds from the $20 million the city received by leasing its parking meters for 50 years. The city last week announced the selection of a developer and operator of the new mixed-use parking development. The lot will have 350 spaces, retail space, and a police substation.

Gov. Pat Quinn last week named Gery Chico to serve as chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education.

Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka on Monday announced a revamped state website with new features aimed at easing public access to financial records and reports.

Chicago and Cook County, collectively facing nearly $1 billion of red ink in their next budgets, could save up to $140 million in coming years by consolidating their purchasing power and some services and collaborating on their capital programs, according to a report released Monday.

CHICAGO - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday signed into law a $23 billion fiscal 2012 budget after cutting $172 million from the plan approved by lawmakers in order to keep spending in line with expected revenue and to set aside $50 million for recent weather-related disasters.

Standard & Poor's last week affirmed the state's prized AAA rating, and fiscal officials announced that recent revenue figures continue to exceed expectations. A new national report, meanwhile, notes that the Hoosier State's economy saw the third-largest growth rate last year, driven by a recovery in manufacturing.

CHICAGO - Moody's Investors Service Thursday lowered its rating on Ohio-based Mercy Medical Center to its lowest investment-grade level — and revised its outlook to negative — warning that the facility is suffering from a sharp decline in its fiscal position.

CHICAGO — Facing a funding crisis, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has adopted a five-year budget plan that eliminates more than 1,000 positions and shutters facilities to save $500 million for project funding as the agency recedes from the ranks of frequent issuers.

CHICAGO — The Michigan Strategic Fund will enter the market next week with $122 million of revenue bonds to refund debt issued seven years ago to acquire and renovate a downtown Detroit landmark.

CHICAGO — Following passage of a new state law aimed at assuaging investor fears of bankruptcy, the city of Ecorse next week will sell $9.3 million of financial recovery bonds, making it one of Michigan’s only municipalities to enter the bond market while under state-controlled receivership.