Economy

Transportation stakeholders are divided this week on a renewed push by President Obama for Congress to provide $50 billion of funding and the release of a report by the Treasury Department and Council of Economic Advisers that stresses the economic risk of not spending more on infrastructure.

Fitch Ratings dropped a Lee’s Summit Industrial Development Authority issue for John Knox Village to BBB-minus — the last rung of investment-grade — due to ongoing fiscal strains.

Central DuPage Health and Delnor Health System have reached a memorandum of understanding that is expected to lead to a merger that will yield one system serving Chicago’s western suburbs.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn last week announced the formation of an advisory council to help with the planning and building of the Elgin-O’Hare West Bypass to expand access to O’Hare International Airport.

CHICAGO — Chicago enters the market this week with $251 million of second-lien Midway International Airport bonds to refund outstanding commercial paper and wrap up financing for a new consolidated rental car facility.

The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority plans to market $1.4 billion of bonds this week to finance various capital projects.

The Oklahoma Hospital Association came out last week in opposition to a proposed Oklahoma amendment that would boost aid to public education because the group said it would reduce the money available for Medicaid funding.

Lower-than-expected construction bids have allowed the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to finance 132 projects with the $351 million the state received for road work under the 2009 federal stimulus bill.

After the deluge of supply last week, the municipal market will see a noticeable lull in new-issue activity this week.

DALLAS — A nonprofit corporation responsible for heating and cooling 13 million square feet of space at the Texas ­Medical Center in Houston will issue $52 million of revenue bonds to keep pace with the growing campus.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday afternoon said he would reconsider killing a multibillion tunnel project after meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority at a special board meeting on Thursday approved fare hikes expected to yield an additional 7.5% in revenue.

The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority board will work with bondholders to establish a creditors' committee in hopes of restructuring $115 million of debt for a toll bridge in northwest Florida that is headed for default next year.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ­terminated an $8.7 billion passenger-rail tunnel project Thursday that would have doubled NJTransit rail capacity between New York City and northern New Jersey and created at least 6,000 construction jobs.

A planned merger between Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways is expected to put more stress on U.S. airports, especially those that rely on either or both of the discount carriers for bond-related revenue, Moody's Investors Service warned in a report this week.

New Jersey has spent nearly $600 million on a new $8.7 billion passenger-rail tunnel called the Access to the Region’s Core, but Gov. Chris Christie may ­terminate the project due to escalating costs.

Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino wants to join a lawsuit challenging the legality of a tax enacted last year to help fund mass transit capital projects in the New York City area, he announced Wednesday.

CHICAGO — Chicago-based BMO Capital Markets has hired senior public finance health care banker David Johnson and three of his colleagues from Ziegler Capital Markets for its merged higher education and health care practices, and named a fouth colleague to lead its strategy and analytics efforts.

The secretary of the South Carolina Department of Transportation is recommending a 5.5 cent increase in the state’s gasoline tax, which is among the lowest in the country.

Despite questions being raised about the cost of high-speed trains as November elections near, Florida is moving forward with the first phase of its $2.6 billion rail project from Tampa to Orlando.