News and Information from Bond Buyer

The cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools is pushing off release of its fiscal 2016 budget and looking at $1.1 billion of tax anticipation and note borrowing through new credit lines as it struggles to stay afloat.

Government

Standard & Poor’s revised the outlook from negative to stable and affirmed a junk rating on bonds issued for a Los Angeles-based charter school chain now that revocation of its charter is no longer an issue.

Gilmore & Bell PC, one of the top-ranked Midwestern bond counsel firms, has formally landed in Illinois with the opening a downstate office in Edwardsville, the law firm said Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission tried to refute criticisms of its controversial disclosure violations self-reporting program while providing some hints about its attitudes toward what violations are important to investors, lawyers said Monday.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds finished weaker on Monday ahead of the new $8.69 billion supply slate which is topped by a $1.4 billion note sale from the city of Los Angeles in the short-term sector and a $939 million Massachusetts general obligation bond sale on the long-term calendar.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers has submitted recommendations to the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service on ways to ease and clarify the public approval requirement for private-activity bonds.

Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle Monday announced she has tapped a Chicago Park District executive to act as the county’s new budget chief.

New York MTA board member Allen Cappelli proposed adding $30 million to the authority’s budget to restore more services that were cut in 2010.

Jacksonville, Fla., reached a deal with the Police and Fire Pension Fund trustees Friday to overhaul benefits and contribute catch-up payments to address a $1.7 billion unfunded liability.

The entire California legislature voted Friday to approve the $115.4 billion budget compromise struck between the governor and legislative leaders earlier in the week.

Covenant violations on lines of credit and poor operations caused Howard University's bond rating to fall with the possibility of the rating declining more if the university cannot fix operations that have been running a deficit in recent years.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.010% high rate, unchanged from 0.010% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.080% high rate, down from 0.100% the week before.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds were weaker at mid-session, traders said, with yields on some maturities rising by as much as two basis points.

Midwestern University is making private loans to students in partnership with the Glendale Industrial Development Authority and the Illinois Finance Authority, which are coming to market with a total of $30 million of bonds that will fund additional lending.

Three years after entering investment banking in earnest, Frost Bank is building relationships with Texas issuers, including hometown clients like the San Antonio Independent School District.

Rhode Island asset manager Michael Riley has asked the SEC to examine the Providence, R.I., pension fund over a $62 million spike in its unfunded liability.

The city of Los Angeles will be coming to market with the city's annual tax and revenue anticipation notes or TRANs on June 24. As part of the city’s muni road show, the presentation team for the city took some time between meeting with investors to speak to The Bond Buyer in its’ New York office.

Monday, June 22 Issuer St Description Amount