Organization Root Tag

The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved the firing of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez late Friday during a heated special meeting.

The budgeting constraints transformed the state's finances and bond ratings. But critics say the policy's downsides include the stifling of needed investments. 

The bank's termination of its membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance ended a state review that could have led to a ban for governmental contracts.

"Munis are grappling with a storm of uncertainty," said James Pruskowski, chief investment officer at 16Rock Asset Management.

It's hard enough convincing local governments to spend money on cyber insurance that covers ransomware attacks, said Omid Rahmani, public finance cybersecurity lead at Fitch Ratings. The new and very specific threat of a hacked financing process, is "absolutely" underappreciated by the public finance industry.

As the market prepares for 2025, there's a lot of uncertainty around what the new administration will mean for the macroeconomic environment and interest rates, the latter of which may be impacted by policy around the deficit, said Steve Shutz, portfolio manager and director of tax-exempt fixed income at Brown Advisory.

Robert McDermott has joined the firm as a director.

A spike in inflationary costs means a tough road ahead for Washington lawmakers as they take up the budget in the new year.

Ohio legislators plan to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would put a $2.5 billion general obligation bond measure on statewide ballots May 6.

Analysts warn the many one-time measures in the budget Mayor Brandon Johnson narrowly got through City Council will make the 2026 budget even harder.