Chicago Schools Haunted by Bankruptcy Chatter Ahead of Bond Sale

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The Chicago Board of Education can’t catch a break as it borrows to pay for upgrades to the third-largest U.S. school system.

First, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings cut it to one step above junk last month, delayingBloomberg Terminal a planned $372 million bond sale. Then last week, before a pared-down $296 million version of the deal, set for Tuesday, Governor Bruce Rauner said the system may need bankruptcy protection, an option that’s not legally open to it.