Economy

CHICAGO - Provena Health by the end of the month will petition the Illinois Supreme Court to review an appellate court opinion stripping one of the Mokena, Ill.-based system's hospitals of its property tax exemption.

CHICAGO - Ohio next week plans to enter the market with roughly $300 million of public infrastructure bonds backed by the state's full faith and credit as part of Gov. Ted Strickland's $1.57 billion economic stimulus plan.

New Jersey officials are moving ahead with proposed toll hikes on the state's three tolled highways while Republican lawmakers are calling for legislative hearings on the issue.

Wayne County Airport Authority officials are taking bids on naming rights for its new $431 million terminal at the Detroit Metro Airport. Officials said it is the first time an airport has sold naming rights for a terminal.

CHICAGO - The Illinois Finance Authority board yesterday approved the University of Chicago Medical Center's plan to restructure $185 million of insured variable-rate debt in a unanimous vote, which came after several protestors voiced complaints charging that the hospital discriminates against the area's poor African-Americans.

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday that he intends this week to pass a pending bill to rescue the nearly depleted highway trust fund and prevent the government from delaying payments to states, despite the successful efforts by two Republican senators to block passage of the bill Monday evening.

New York Gov. David Paterson said yesterday that two different project plans are on the table for a new Moynihan Station and that transportation issues - like rerouting service to a new station - still need to be worked out between Amtrak and other transit agencies that would use the station.

Fitch Ratings yesterday placed the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's $2.24 billion of Metropolitan Highway System debt on credit watch negative due to rising operating costs and an anticipated drop in debt service coverage.

CHICAGO - Chicago will remarket about $300 million of variable-rate third-lien general airport revenue bonds today, shedding the downgraded insurance from the 2005 floating-rate deal that had prompted investors to drop the bonds.

Facing a budget deficit, the Chicago Transit Authority this week announced it would cut 80 administrative jobs, defer non-critical spending on bus maintenance, and undertake other cost-cutting measures to save $40 million.

DALLAS - Shreveport, La., will further reduce its exposure to variable-rate debt this week with a negotiated sale of $24.7 million of fixed-rate airport revenue bonds to refund variable-rate bonds issued in fall 2007.

CHICAGO - CoxHealth of Springfield, Mo., enters the market today with the first piece of a new-money and refunding transaction for $265 million that will finance a series of expansion projects and restructure outstanding insured floating-rate bonds hit with higher rates due to insurer downgrades.

CHICAGO - The Cleveland Clinic Health System today enters the market with $375 million in fixed-rate revenue bonds, the first in a series of issues totaling $1.1 billion over the next few weeks.

Transportation departments in some states are bracing themselves for staggering cuts to construction projects as the federal highway trust fund dries up and the Federal Highway Administration implements a rationing of reimbursements this week. The announcement exacerbated worries about the fund, which officials now expect to see at least a $3.1 billion shortfall by the end of fiscal 2009.

WASHINGTON - In a complete turnaround, the Department of Transportation is urging Congress to immediately pass legislation that would move $8 billion from the general fund into the highway trust fund, which DOT officials said has collected even less federal gas tax revenue than expected and is headed for a zero balance on Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON - The Maryland Transportation Authority plans to issue $425 million of grant anticipation revenue vehicles in a competitive deal Wednesday, marking the second and final tranche of Garvees being used to finance the ongoing construction of the state's Intercounty Connector, a $2.4 billion, 18.8-mile toll-road project.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority will not be able to certify by Dec. 1 that it can meet the debt service coverage levels necessary to maintain its ratings without the increased revenue from toll hikes proposed last week.

The Maine Municipal Bond Bank later this month will issue nearly $50 million of debt backed by revenue allocated to the state's new TransCap Fund that lawmakers established to help finance transportation infrastructure needs.

CHICAGO - Investors holding $38 million of bonds issued on behalf of a Michigan hospital will likely end up receiving just $3.2 million under a deal announced last week allowing the cash-strapped facility to enter bankruptcy before being purchased by a for-profit group of physicians.

The federal government must adopt bond-related policy changes and emergency provisions to keep the airport industry afloat, the American Association of Airport Executives said yesterday in a report by its energy and air service task force.