News and Information from Bond Buyer

Week Of December 2 Issuer St Description Amount

ARKANSAS

ILLINOIS

Ending a two-year political impasse, the Illinois General Assembly approved sweeping changes to the state's pension system billed by its backers as a "landmark" overhaul that will stabilize both the system and the state's fiscal foundation.

The MTA, after the deadly Metro-North Railroad derailment, said it intends to fully fund and implement train-control technology, but doing so by 2015 would be hard.

The Long Island Power Authority has set up a securitization authority that will sell $2.1 billion in the week of Dec. 9.

New safety concerns led the North Carolina Department of Transportation to close the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over the Oregon Inlet on Dec. 3.

Government

The Southern California Logistics Airport Authority of Victorville, Calif. defaulted for the fifth time on bonds issued to redevelop the airport from military to civilian use.

The municipal market stayed steady Tuesday as traders prepared for the week's biggest deals, set to price Wednesday and Thursday, and shrugged off a federal judge's decision to grant Detroit bankruptcy protection.

Puerto Rico's already high unemployment rate took a substantial jump up from June to October.

Nearly 20 mayors and vice mayors sent a letter to Mayor Chuck Reed, urging him to call off his 2014 statewide pension ballot initiative.

Twenty of the 52 initiatives outlined in the District of Columbia's five-year economic development strategy have been completed during the first year of its implementation, though bond and infrastructure-bank initiatives have yet to be completed, district officials announced Tuesday.

Detroit is eligible for bankruptcy protection, the federal judge overseeing the case ruled Tuesday.

Cary Anderson, a 50-year veteran in the municipal bond industry, died Nov. 24. He was 76.

Standard & Poor's placed a negative outlook on the West Virginia's school lottery revenue bonds due to increased gaming competition from neighboring states.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., will introduce a bill phasing in a 15 cent increase in the federal gasoline tax, currently at 18.4 cents per gallon.

Standard & Poor's has upgraded the Washington cities of Kent and Centralia to AA-minus ratings from A-plus.

Democratic and Republican backers of legislation to fix Illinois's pension mess portrayed it as landmark legislation that represents the best shot at both stabilizing the system and the state's fiscal foundation while unions attacked it as unfair and unconstitutional.

Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded to A2 from A1 the rating on the town of Prospect, Conn.'s general obligation bonds, affecting $1.6 million in general obligation debt outstanding.