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Presents information related to bonds in various states of the U.S. as of August 13, 2003. Analysis of Illinois Wesleyan University by Moody's Investors Service Inc. regarding bond sales; Reason for an increase in property tax by Mayor Richard Daley in Chicago, Illinois; Downgrade of ratings for multifamily revenue bonds in Indianapolis, Indiana by Moody's Investors Service Inc.

Reports the pace of spending to reform the public schools by the finance teams in Detroit, Michigan. Question on the district finances; Submission of yearly audits; Subject on the state address of Governor John Engler.

Reports that U.S. rating agency Standard & Poor's Corp. has raised ratings for approximately 100 bond issues in Michigan supported by a limited tax pledge. Amount of outstanding debt affected by the upgrades; Comments of a director at Standard & Poor's regarding the need for greater flexibility in the use of limited tax-pledge.

Reports that a federal court panel in the U.S. has ruled the casino ordinance of Detroit, Michigan as unconstitutional. Amount of tax revenue brought in annually by casinos for the state and city; Details of the lawsuit filed in relation to the city's casino ordinance; Casinos favored for licensing in Detroit.

Reports that Republican state legislators in Indiana have introduced a separate economic recovery package that runs counter to the plan proposed by Governor Frank O'Bannon. Inclination towards tax credits and incentives for businesses in the plan of the state legislators; Details of the deficit-reduction plan of the Governor.

Reports that the Indiana-based Indiana Bond Bank plans to sell $472 million of tax anticipation notes (Tan) in January 2002. Expectation of company officials regarding the reception of the sale; List of local entities participating in the Tan program; Purpose for which Indiana uses the proceeds of the sale.

The article reports on the outlook revision for Indiana state from positive to negative by the Moody's Investors Service Inc. in the U.S. This change was caused by the decision of Indiana Finance Authority to issue $65 million of facilities revenue bonds which will be used for outstanding commercial paper refund. According to Nicholas Samuels, an analyst, the revision has reflected the gradual improvement of the state's economy in 2006.

Reports on the election of Mitch Daniels as new governor of Indiana. Educational background of the new governor; Members of his debt issuance reorganization team; Overview of Daniels' plan for the debt issuers.

The article reports that Cook County, Illinois chief financial officer Tom Glaser used Grant Street Group's Internet site, www.gfoayield.com, to handle an investment auction. The online auction would determine which parties would get the opportunity to invest $430 million of county bond proceeds. Public finance officials typically use financial advisers, trustees, or the open market to invest bond proceeds, parking them in liquid securities that are flexible enough to make the funds available as needed by state and local government borrowers. For Glaser, using the Internet frees up time and labor and satisfies his passion for transparency in government finance.

Reports on the formation of a team to restructure the tax system in Indiana. Declaration of the Supreme Court of the method for taxing real property as unconstitutional; Assembly of the team to workout on the details of restructuring; Basis of the property-tax assessment.

Reports on efforts of financial manager Louis H. Schimmel Jr. to tackle a $2.5 million deficit and $7.5 million of bond debt in Hamtramck, Michigan's budget of $16 million. Appointment of Schimmel under the Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act in Michigan; Things required by Schimmel to balance city's fiscal 2004 budget; Opinions of City Council member about Schimmel; Tools used by states to deal with financial crisis.

The article reports that Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has proposed a host of tax increases, including some on services, and some $300 million of spending cuts as she laid out plans for a $23 billion general fund and school aid fund budget for fiscal 2008. The plan aims to eliminate a cumulative deficit that could reach $2.1 billion. The general fund budget provides for an increase of $500 million more than was appropriated in 2007.

The article focuses on the needed tax reforms to immediately rise revenues addressing a structural deficit in Michigan. According to a panel, the state must concentrate on its long-term tax reforms to solve its problems. It has been recommended that the state should find a current fiscal plan combining revenue increases, spending cuts and reforms of public service delivery.

The article reports on the move of the Fitch Ratings Inc. to lower down the credit ratings for Michigan. At the same time, Moody's Investors Service Inc. gave the state a negative rating for its outlook. The factors of the AA-minus rating are the acceleration of economic decline in the state and the impairment in financial condition.

The article reports on the issue regarding Michigan's $819.3 million budget shortfall for 2007. According to the state's officials, the filling of the budget shortage will play a key role in the management of the upcoming 2008 budget. Furthermore, officials are examining plans by Governor Jennifer Granholm in balancing on how to balance the current budget shortage.

The article reports on Cook County, Illinois Board President Todd Stroger's introduction of his first budget. It is a three billion dollar fiscal 2007 spending plant that looks to debt restructuring, spending reductions and consolidation services to fill a 500 million dollar shortfall. He wants to restrict spending for all departments under his management by 98 percent.

The article reports on the presentation of the Bond Buyer's 2006 Non-Traditional Public Finance Deal of the Year award to Indiana for its toll-road lease transaction. The award recognizes deals that fund traditional public finance projects without the use of municipal securities. The article reports on the growing interest in the privatization of public assets in general and the successful completion of the Indiana Toll Road lease.

The article reports on the plan of Hamilton County, Ohio to bring up to $420 million of sales tax advance refunding bonds to the market. According to Eric Stuckey, an assistant administrator in the Department of Administrative Services, the county expects the sale of $370 million-$420 million. The bonds will be issued through syndication with senior manager of Citigroup Investment Banking and with co-managers of UBS Securities LLC and Seasongood & Mayer.

The article reports on the plan of Ascension Health Inc. to sell $940 million of refunding and new-money bonds. The sale, which is part of a capital program, has received an upgraded rating from Fitch Ratings. The bonds will be issued either as fixed or variable rate. Several bond issues include the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority and the Indiana Health and Educational Facility Financing Authority.

The article reports on the plans of Minnesota to competitively sell $400 million of tax-exempt general obligation (GO) bonds. $327 million will be sold as GO bonds for various capital projects and the remaining $73 million will be state trunk-line GO debt, dedicated to transportation projects. The bonds will be sold through i-Deal's PARITY electronic bidding system and through Bloomberg LP's proprietary bidding system. Dorsey & Whitney will act as bond counsel.

The article reports on the plans of Ohio Public Facilities Commission to sell $250 million of common school general obligation bonds. The deal would reflect higher state appropriations for a 12-year capital program to fund school construction. The commission plans to issue the Series 2006D bonds in a competitive sale.

The article reports that Chicago, Illinois filed a preliminary application with the Federal Aviation Administration to secure a permit to lease Midway International Airport to bring in the net proceeds that would help the city pay for capital projects and allow it to defeat some outstanding airport revenue bonds.

The article reports on the move of the Ohio Treasurer of State to issue $180 million of grant anticipation revenue vehicles (GARVEE) for infrastructure projects to the bond market. The issuance is part of the planned $600 million of additional debt to be made by the office in 2007. The office is planning to sell bonds to institutional buyers on behalf of the state Department of Transportation.

The article reports that the board of directors of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority will vote in considering a plan to spend a part of its assets for education purposes in exchange for authoritization to release $1.1 billion of bonds over 10 years and other benefits. The author cited that some have criticized on such plan as being in conflict with the state law, urging the board to veto the proposal.

The article reports on the upcoming sale of $ 260 million of revenue bonds by the Regional Transportation Authority of Chicago, Illinois on September 13, 2006 on the heels of an upgrade from Standard & Poor that brought a boost on its fixed-rate debt of $ 202 billion to AA-plus. The sale will be offered through bidding on i-Deal's online bidding site. The deal will be managed by the Public Financial Management while Chapman and Cutler will serve as the bond counsel.

The article reports on the plans to issue $615 million of public utility revenue bonds by the City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri. The bonds will be sold in a competitive deal the week of September 11, 2006. Proceeds will be use to fund a new 300-megawatt, coal-fired power plant to meet expanding demand as the utility allows power purchase contracts to expire. The construction is set to begin in December 2006.

The article reports that Clarian Health Partners Inc. is planning to bring $381.7 million of fixed rate bonds to market to refund a portion of its outstanding variable-rate debt and is also planning to swap the new bonds to a synthetic variable rate. According to a banker with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Jim Blake, the growing hospital system will refund variable-rate debt that is not backed by insurance and carries no letters of credit. The deal is the second for the hospital system in 2006.

The article reports that the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) has seen a phenomenal increase in home loans in Ohio. The agency's volume of loans has jumped 10-fold over the past two-and-a-half years. The agency is finding creative ways to balance borrowing needs and volume-cap limits to keep the momentum. The OHFA is also enhancing its down-payment process for lenders and buyers.

The article discusses the plan of the Michigan State Building Authority to issue a record $850 million of refunding revenue bonds on August 22, 2006. Michigan will bring $835.5 million of tax-exempt bonds and $13.7 million of taxable bonds to refund debt issued for its facilities program. It will be one of the largest deals in the U.S. market in the fourth week of August 2006.

The article reports on the economic forecast by Standard & Poor's Corp. on the outstanding general obligation debt of Michigan. For the week ended August 11, 2006, the credit rating agency changed its outlook on the state's debt to negative from stable, citing the repeal of the single business tax that could cost Michigan $1.9 billion in revenue annually. Meanwhile, the state still faces challenges in economy and politics despite its efforts at budgeting and spending restraint.

The article reports that U.S. Senator Nancy Cassis plans to introduce legislation that would allow Oakland County, Michigan to issue general obligation bonds to fund around $500 million unfunded liability for retiree health care costs. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson introduced hi 2007-08 biennial budget and proposed the $500 million taxable bond issue for shifting an irrevocable trust for post-employment health care costs to bond payments.

The article reports on the plans of the city government of Detroit, Michigan to bestow $616 million of new-money and refund water system revenue bonds to market after the Standard & Poor's Corp. changed its rating expectation for the city's water bonds to positive from stable. The proceeds from both the water and sewer deals for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department will be used to finance a $1.4 billion capital investment program.

The article reports on the reconsideration of municipalities of their method to capital projects and borrowing with the implementation of limitations on property taxes at 2 percent in Indiana. Bob Clifford, a controller for Indianapolis, claims that the law changed the landscape for municipal government. The law has already affected outstanding bonds issued by municipalities. Moody's Investors Service Inc. decided to lower the ratings of the bonds because of their limited-tax security.

The article reports on the plan of Indiana to close its 3.85 billion dollar lease agreement for the Indiana Toll Road after the state Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling. Plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of the precedent-setting transaction would have to post a 1.9 billion bond to proceed with their lawsuit.

The article reports on the Indiana Supreme Court's hearing of oral arguments focusing on the definition of public debt as envisioned by the framers of the state constitution. The Supreme Court will determine whether legislation created for the lease of the Indiana Toll Road to an international consortium should be considered "special legislation" under state law.

The article reports on the impact created by the enactment of the law which will limit property tax bills on two percent of assessed tax value by 2010 in Indiana. There are some bond professionals in the state that calls for the adjustment of the law which also exclude exemption for taxes securing existing bonds or new debt, or other means of raising revenues.

The article reports on the decision of the Michigan Tobacco Settlement Finance Authority regarding the multimillion-dollar taxable tobacco settlement backed bonds, a deal that will be the market's largest taxable tobacco backed offerings. The deal has a variety of offers meant to attract an investor base and maintain the best deal for the state. The state made the authority to buy the tobacco receipts as an asset of the state.

The article reports on the budget proposal of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick for the fiscal year 2007, which calls for more cuts in spending, in Detroit, Michigan. The proposed budget includes 1.29 billion dollars in operating expenditures and carries over a projected 63 million dollars shortfall from the current year. According to Kilpatrick, the city has implemented his proposed tax cuts to reduce the deficit in 2006, however, some of the initiatives were not met.

The article reports on the plan of the federal government of Michigan to finalize the structure of its deal to sell tobacco bonds in May 2006. The tobacco bonds is worth 400 million dollars. Proceeds of the sale will be used to fund its 21st Century Jobs initiative, one of the programs dedicated to boost the employment in the state. The Michigan Tobacco Settlement Finance Authority will convene to finalize the structure of the deal on April 20, 2006.

The article reports on the issuance of bonds for municipalities addressing other post employment benefit (OPEB) costs in the U.S. According to the speakers at the Bond Buyer's OPEB Liability Conference, issuers must define their liabilities and determine the best method if they had decided to fund those expected to be large costs for states and municipalities. A process for issuers to tap the market and sell tobacco bonds may take two or three legislative cycles.

The article provides an overview of the fiscal condition of Ohio. The decline in the state's bond issuance in 2005 is attributed to fewer refundings. Ohio allocated 5 percent of its pension funds toward retiree health care but it was reduced in 2004 to ensure the stability of the pension system. Meanwhile, the state adopted the Health Care Preservation Plan to help reduce the costs of medical care.

The article reports on the plan of the Omaha Public Power District to bring 200 million dollar of fixed-rate bonds to market in May 2006. It includes a senior-lien electric revenue bonds with serial and term maturities. Merrill Lynch & Co., Edward Jones and Ameritas Investment Corp. will be senior managers for the bond. The proceeds of the bond will be used to finance a new power plant.

The article reports that Indiana legislators are debating over a deal to raise $3.85 billion by leasing the Indiana Toll Road to a private consortium for 75 years. The House and Senate versions of Governor Mitch Daniels' proposed 10-year transportation plan are being reconciled by a conference committee representing the two chambers.

The article reports that the Indiana Senate has approved the HB 1008 bill concerning the leasing of the Indiana Toll Road to a private operator for $3.85 billion. The Indiana Senate rejected a second attempt by Democrats to use bonds instead to fund state transportation projects. The lease agreement was awarded to the Australian-Spanish consortium of Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte.

The article reports on the ending of a ten-city tour around the state of Ohio by Treasurer, Jennette Bradley, in efforts to educate local investors on the benefits of tax-exempt bonds. Bradley was accompanied by bankers from book-running senior manager, Fifth Third Securities Inc. NatCity Investments Inc. also participated in the tour, and is the senior co-manager on the deal with about 20 firms working as co-managers and in the selling group.

The article reports on the performance of the sales of annual bond in the U.S. for 2005. Bond issuance in the region increase by 78.8 billion dollar. This increase surpasses the national gain of 13.2 percent. Refinancing bonds accounts the highest percentage of increase which totaled to 71.7 percent. Majority of debt sold in the region accounted to 66.7 billion dollar.

The article reports that Cook County, Illinois is planning to sell 335.3 million dollars of general obligation refunding bonds. the County board is planning to consider amendments to the proposed 3.1 billion dollar budget in a session that is bound to be contentious. Three members of the board are vying for the board president spot.

The article reports on the proposal of Indiana House Democrats to use grant anticipation revenue bonds and bonds backed by toll increases to fund a transportation program in the state. They opposed to the idea of using a fund that an international consortium has bid for the right to lease the Indiana Toll Road. The proposal is an amendment to HB 1008 or the "Major Moves" bill, a 10-year transportation plan proposed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels.

The article reports that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has selected the Statewide Mobility Partners consortium to maintain and operate the Indiana Toll Road for 75 years. The consortium, made up of Spain-based Cintra and Australia-based Macquarie Infrastructure Group, bid $3.85 billion for the contract. The funds will be used for transportation projects in Indiana.

This article presents information on an announcement regarding the largest health care deal by the Indiana Health and Educational Facility Financing Authority in Indiana. This deal will come into being with the selling of $325 million of revenue bonds by the Health and Educational Facility Financing Authority on behalf of Clarian Health Partners Inc. The company is working to promote its market in Chicago. The article also informs that Clarian has been issuing mostly-variable-rate debt to provide finance to ongoing expansions. Investment banking companies, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. will be bidding for this deal.