RACINE, Wisconsin (Reuters) – The public school system in this city hugging the shore of Lake Michigan is running low on money and options for educating its 21,000 students as federal stimulus cash dries up.

Anticipating this summer’s end to the $10 million boost it received from the stimulus, Racine Unified held a referendum in April asking to replace some of the lost cash with local property tax dollars. Voters said no.

CHICAGO, June 16 (Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service on
Thursday slapped Illinois’ biggest county with a rating
downgrade, citing financial woes that include a recently
discovered revenue error and troubles with its health system.

The rating for Cook County, which includes the city of
Chicago, was cut to Aa3 from Aa2 with a stable outlook.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – As a candidate for Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel laid out big plans to put 1,000 more police on the streets and increase class time for public school students.

But on his first full-day in office on May 17 the former chief of staff for President Barack Obama began tackling his biggest challenge — a projected $700 million hole in the city’s next budget.

CHICAGO, June 16 (Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service on
Thursday slapped Illinois’ biggest county with a rating
downgrade, citing financial woes that include a recently
discovered revenue error and troubles with its health system.

The rating for Cook County, which includes the city of
Chicago, was cut to Aa3 from Aa2 with a stable outlook.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – States are projecting slightly higher revenue collections in fiscal 2012, but the slow pace of the economic recovery is leaving many with deficits and mounting spending pressure for health care and education, according to a fiscal survey released on Thursday.

“We don’t expect revenue to keep pace with bills coming in,” said Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, which conducted the biannual survey with the National Governors Association.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. municipal bond market received some good news and bad news this week concerning flows into muni bond funds.

By the Investment Company Institute’s accounting, net inflows of $38 million broke a 26-week streak of net outflows. But Lipper late on Thursday reported that net outflows continued for a 27th consecutive week, climbing to $108 million from $94.5 million in the previous week.

CHICAGO, May 9 (Reuters) – An expected flood of expirations
of liquidity facilities on U.S. municipal debt this year is so
far going well, Moody’s Investors Service reported on Monday.

However, it warned that the peak expiration months for
letters of credit and other liquidity facilities used to
support variable-rate debt lie ahead.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. municipal bond market is entering its spring-summer period when big amounts of cash flow into investors’ pockets from bond coupon payments and redemptions.

Coupon payments alone for May, June and July should mirror the $21.3 billion paid out during the same period in 2010, according to Municipal Market Data. But 24 consecutive weeks of sizable outflows from municipal bond funds could indicate the money will not be returning to munis.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Illinois is on track to end fiscal 2011 with $8 billion in unpaid bills and other obligations, the state comptroller said on Wednesday.

“After years of hand-wringing about the state’s finances and deficit spending, here we are looking to end yet another fiscal year in the red,” said Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka in a statement.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – States and local governments are facing their toughest year so far, as rating downgrades continue to outpace upgrades, Moody’s Investors Service said on Tuesday.

The first quarter of 2011 marked the ninth consecutive quarter in which downgrades dominated, according to the rating agency.