Midwest

CHICAGO — Transit advocates in central Indiana plan to push forward with a high-profile regional transportation plan that features a $2.5 billion mass-transit expansion despite opposition from Republican leaders.

CHICAGO — Indianapolis would float $86 million of tax-increment financing bonds to finance construction of a new corporate campus for Eli Lilly and Co.— the pharmaceutical giant that is the city’s top private-sector employer — under a plan Mayor Greg Ballard will submit to the City-County Council next week.

CHICAGO — Missouri’s passage of a ballot measure that threatens Kansas City and St. Louis’ long-term collection of a 1% earnings tax could stress both cities’ credits, Moody’s Investors Service warned in its weekly credit outlook released Monday.

CHICAGO — The Iowa Finance Authority will compete for investor interest in a crowded market Tuesday with the sale of $293 million of triple-A rated, new-money and refunding state revolving fund revenue bonds that tap the Build America Bond program.

Chicago's heavy use of non-recurring revenues to balance its budget and sizable unfunded pension liabilities drove Standard & Poor's to drop the city's general obligation rating from the double-A category on Friday.

Moody's Investors Service last week boosted its outlook to stable from negative on the Cleveland Clinic Health System in part because the prestigious system has scaled back some of its ambitious capital program.

Minnesota's debt manager Kathy Kardell recently resigned to take a newly created position on Hennepin County's finance team, a loss for the state's finance team that comes as the executive and legislative branches are set to change party hands following the election last week.

The Illinois Senate adjourned a one-day session Thursday after the Democratic majority failed to muster enough support to win passage of a $3.8 billion general obligation issue to cover state pension payments owed in the current fiscal year.

Scaling down local government and expanding public-private partnerships for infrastructure are among Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels top priorities for the upcoming legislative session, the governor said Thursday morning at a press conference.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has selected Public Financial Management Inc. and Gardner, Underwood & Bacon LLC as co-financial advisers for its sale next month of up to $500 million of new-money debt tapping the Build America Bond program.