Chicago Schools in Fiscal Limbo as Clash Builds Before Bond Sale
- The $875 million bond sale will refinance to push off payments
- Illinois governor pushes bankruptcy one week before bond sale
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Chicago’s public schools are under fiscal siege as the political clash between the state’s top Republicans and the city’s Democratic mayor escalates, rattling investors as the nation’s third-largest district struggles to avert insolvency.
The conflict over the fate of the school system threatens to force the Chicago Board of Education to pay a steep premium when it sells $875 million of bonds on Wednesday. The deal comes a week after Republican Governor Bruce Rauner called for the state to take over the district and potentially authorize bankruptcy. That idea was immediately rejected by Democrats in control of the legislature and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who have unsuccessfully pushed for an influx of state aid.