The Bond Buyer articles from April 2003

The Bond Buyer archives from April 2003

N.Y. Budget Clock Runs Out: Market Concerned About State's Credit Rating.
April 1, 2003... For the 19th year in a row, New York has failed to enact a budget in time for the new fiscal year, which begins today. However, in contrast to recent years, the state finds itself in a precarious financial position this time around, with cash...

Philip Morris Says $12B Appeal Bond Could Prove Devastating.
April 1, 2003... State attorneys general may intervene in a lawsuit against Philip Morris USA Inc. because of concerns that a $12 billion court-ordered appeal bond could force the company into bankruptcy and jeopardize payments owed to states under the 1998...

The Digest.
April 1, 2003... Underwriters priced more than $200 million in new loans for King County, Wash., while cash bond yields fell between two and four basis points and more in spots yesterday even as tobacco bonds came under pressure. Complete market coverage by...

Quarter Sets New Record For Volume: Issuance Hits $83.5B January to March.
April 1, 2003... Issuers seized on dramatically low interest rates in the first three months of 2003 to push volume up to the highest first quarter on record in the long-term municipal bond market. Total volume slightly eclipsed $83.5 billion, a giant leap over...

A Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2003... Moody's Investors Service currently has three states on its watch list for a possible downgrade: Minnesota, Michigan, and Connecticut. A story Friday on Moody's placement of Michigan on negative watch incorrectly listed Missouri as being one of...

Monday's Market: King County, Wash., Offers $200M; Cash Bonds Fall Up to 4 Basis Points.
April 1, 2003... Underwriters priced more than $200 million of new loans for King County, Wash., while cash bond yields fell between two and four basis points and more in spots yesterday even as tobacco bonds came under pressure. Treasuries remained well...

News In Brief: Mass. Governor Proposes Slots to Raise Money.
April 1, 2003... With neighboring states refusing to pay out to Massachusetts to prevent the Bay State from installing competing slot machines, Gov. Mitt Romney and Treasurer Tim Cahill have reluctantly endorsed video slot machines to help plug the $3 billion...

News In Brief: Chicago PMI Fell To 48.4 In March.
April 1, 2003... The Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index slipped to 48.4 in March from 54.9 in February, the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago said yesterday. The data is compiled on a seasonally adjusted basis. An index reading below 50 signals...

News In Brief: NAPM-NY Index Slips To 240.3 in March.
April 1, 2003... The New York City economy continued contracting in March, as the war with Iraq, an upward revision to the 2002 job-loss count for the city, and continuing stress on the budget portend further woes ahead, according to the National Association of...

News In Brief: Weekly T-Bills Go At 1.10%, 1.09%.
April 1, 2003... Tender rates for the Treasury's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were lower, as the three-months incurred a 1.100% high rate, down from the previous auction's rate of 1.150%, and as the six-months incurred a 1.090% high rate, down from...

News In Brief: Treasury Details 4-Week Bill Auction.
April 1, 2003... The Treasury Department said yesterday it will sell $19 billion of four-week discount bills today. The four-week, or 28-day, bills will pay down $6.001 billion in new cash by auctioning $19 billion to refund $25.001 billion of maturing...

News In Brief: Treasury Announces Management Auction.
April 1, 2003... The Treasury Department said yesterday it will offer $20 billion of 12-day cash management bills on April 3. The bills are dated April 3 and due April 15. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.bondbuyer.com

American, Unions Reach Agreement; Airline Hopes to Save $1.8B Annually.
April 1, 2003... American Airlines Inc. may have staved off a bankruptcy that many pundits had predicted would be filed this week after signing tentative agreements with four unions and moving forward late yesterday with negotiations with pilots. As of...

Nevada Legislators Float Tax Plans to Balance Budget.
April 1, 2003... Nevada lawmakers are presenting nearly a half dozen tax plans in hopes of balancing a $4.8 billion 2004-2005 biennium budget that is estimated to incur a $704 million revenue shortfall. Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn earlier this year proposed...

United, Engulfed in Fiscal Turmoil, Gets 15-Day Eviction Grace Period.
April 1, 2003... U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Eugene Wedoff entered an order yesterday that gives United Airlines Inc. at least a 15-day grace period to halt any eviction action the managers of four airports may take in the event the airline fails to make $16...

North Carolina County Wants $300 Million for Schools.
April 1, 2003... Guilford County, N.C., officials are gearing up to ask voters to approve $300 million of general obligation bonds for schools in November, after a $200 million debt authorization has almost been exhausted in less than two years. The...

Virgin Islands Power Agency Plans Rare $70 Million Sale.
April 1, 2003... In a rare appearance, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority will come to market next month with $70 million of fixed-rate, tax-exempt revenue bonds to add new generating capacity to the Caribbean islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St....

Regulation: AMF, Five More Firms Join TBMA to Oppose MSRB Crisis Plan.
April 1, 2003... The Bond Market Association's Asset Managers Forum and five more broker-dealer firms told the Securities and Exchange Commission that they are opposed to giving the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board the authority to shut down the municipal...

Tax Regulation: IRS Letter: Leasing to Partnership Won't Make Garage Debt Taxable.
April 1, 2003... The Internal Revenue Service has issued a ruling that reinforces its position of looking at what makes up a partnership rather than the partnership itself when considering the private business use of a facility financed with tax-exempt debt....

The Trading Floor.
April 1, 2003... Lewis Returns to Seattle-Northwest Michael A. Lewis has rejoined Seattle Northwest Securities Inc. as an investment banker after three years away from the firm. Before returning to the firm last week as vice president, he worked as a...

Rankings: Salomon, UBS Keep Top Spots Coming Out of First Quarter.
April 1, 2003... Call it deja vu. Salomon Smith Barney Inc. and UBS PaineWebber held on to their positions as the number one and number two senior managers, respectively, for the first three months of 2003. Merrill Lynch jumped two slots to number...

Arizona Town's Sales Tax Solves Fire District Problem, for Now.
April 1, 2003... When Fountain Hills, Ariz., begins collecting a 1% sales tax to fund its recently acquired fire department today, the temporary revenue stream will douse one threat to the city's financial future as others continue to smolder. Still to be...

Oregon Mulls $150M Bond Deal to Lure Expos to Portland.
April 1, 2003... Lawmakers in Oregon have a bill on deck that that would allow the state to issue $150 million in bonds for a Major League Baseball stadium in Portland. A draft of the bill circulating last week would have the state issue $150 million in...

Trends in the Region: Arizona Lawmakers Look for Debt By Any Other Name.
April 1, 2003... Faced with a $350,000 debt limit and a $1 billion revenue shortfall, Arizona lawmakers are mapping new adventures in creative finance for the 2004 fiscal year, using certificates of participation and revenue bonds to sidestep the touchy issue...

ARKANSAS: Tax Surcharge.
April 1, 2003... The state Senate this week is expected to discuss a measure that would allow Arkansas to levy a 10% surcharge on state income taxes for 2003 and 2004. SB 782 was approved last week by the Revenue and Taxation Committee, which sponsored the...

COLORADO: Shoveling Out.
April 1, 2003... Colorado lawmakers last week gave the nod to $260 million of tobacco bonds. Officials in the normally debt-wary state opted to approve the tobacco bond issuance to plug a predicted $870 million budget shortfall for fiscal 2004. The...

TEXAS: Remodeling Ramada.
April 1, 2003... The Fort Worth City Council last week agreed to grant tax incentives to a private hotel management company in return for the remodeling of a hotel near the Fort Worth Convention Center. The decision comes on the heels of a failed attempt to...

TEXAS: Rail Vote.
April 1, 2003... Denton County commissioners last week agreed to spend $86,250 to finance a county-wide special election on Sept. 13 to ask voters to approve a sales tax to fund rail projects. Voters in November agreed to create the Denton County...

UTAH: Hunting for Office?
April 1, 2003... Jon Huntsman Jr.'s recent resignation as deputy U.S. trade representative and the announcement that he plans to return to Utah is fueling speculation he will make a run for governor in 2004. But Huntsman says he will support his friend, current...

NEW-ISSUE VOLUME NOTES.
April 1, 2003... The new-issue volume tables are based on information compiled by The Bond Buyer from Thomson Financial's data base on Monday, March 31, 2003. All figures are preliminary and subject to revision. Long-term bonds have final stated...

LONG-TERM BONDS: January-March.
April 1, 2003... 2003 2002 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $83,501,100 2,990 $68,185,800 3,120 +22.5 % January 26,646,000 922 21,792,100 954 ...

LARGEST ISSUES: March 2003.
April 1, 2003... Amount Issuer Date $767.4 Virgina Tobacco Settlement Finance Corp. (TAX/TE) Mar 21 682.2 Energy Northwest, Wash. (ref) (TAX/TE) Mar 20 594.6 New York State Dormitory Authority (TAX/TE) Mar 28 ...

BOND SALES BY STATE: January-March.
April 1, 2003... 2003 2002 State Rank Volume Rank Volume Pct Chg Alabama 28 $592,200 31 $672,300 -11.9 % Alaska 52 31,500 36 386,500 -91.8 Arizona 14 1,918,600 9 1,997,600 -4.0...

LONG-TERM BONDS: March.
April 1, 2003... 2003 2002 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $27,076,100 1,049 $25,421,600 1,158 +6.5 % Development 597,100 31 381,300 38 ...

Top Disclosure Counsel: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson $1,081.0 7 2 Ropes & Gray 1,066.4 2 3* Ruye Hawkins 981.1 3 3* Robert P. Saltsman 981.1 3 5 Sidley Austin Brown...

Top Bond Counsel: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP $11,543.5 116 2 Sidley Austin Brown & Wood 6,393.9 36 3 Hawkins Delafield & Wood 6,100.5 83 4 Squire, Sanders & Dempsey...

Top Financial Advisers: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Public Resources Advisory Group $11,577.9 40 2 Public Financial Management Inc. 8,360.3 154 3 First Southwest Co. 3,485.7 117 4 Lamont Financial Services...

Top Underwriter's Counsel: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Hawkins Delafield & Wood $8,664.7 38 2 Sidley Austin Brown & Wood 2,567.5 32 3 DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Gluck & Cole LLP 2,415.7 7 4 Ballard, Spahr, Andrews...

Top Small-Issue Managers: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. $483.1 93 2 Morgan Keegan & Co. 322.0 69 3 U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. 282.8 67 4 UBS PaineWebber Inc. 247.0 44 5...

Top Negotiated Managers: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 UBS PaineWebber Inc. $8,566.2 103 2 Salomon Smith Barney 8,266.7 86 3 Bear Stearns & Co. 7,733.8 36 4 Morgan Stanley 5,912.1 43 5 Lehman...

Top Senior Managers: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Salomon Smith Barney Inc. $10,370.6 155 2 UBS PaineWebber Inc. 10,007.7 174 3 Merrill Lynch & Co. 8,540.0 64 4 Bear Stearns & Co. 8,323.3 38 5...

Top Competitive Managers: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Merrill Lynch & Co. $5,047.9 46 2 Salomon Smith Barney Inc. 2,103.9 69 3 Morgan Stanley 2,008.7 31 4 UBS PaineWebber Inc. 1,441.5 71 5 ...

Top Trustee Banks: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2003... (by Number of Issues) Rank Bank Issues Amount 1 US Bank 147 $6,972.7 2 Bank of New York 130 11,506.2 3 Wells Fargo Bank 88 6,639.4 4 Wachovia Bank 52 3,483.2 5...

Top Trustee Banks: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... (by Dollar Amount) Rank Bank Amount Issues 1 Bank of New York $11,506.2 130 2 US Bank 6,972.7 147 3 Wells Fargo Bank 6,639.4 88 4 Wachovia Bank 3,483.2 52 5 ...

Top Bond Insurers: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Financial Security Assurance $15,603.6 401 2 MBIA Insurance Corp. 15,540.4 367 3 Ambac Assurance Corp. 9,459.1 234 4 Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. ...

Top Issuers: First Quarter 2003.
April 1, 2003... Rank Issuer Amount Issues 1 Golden State Tobacco Securitization Corp., Calif. $3,000.0 2 2 Los Angeles Unified School District, Calif. 2,607.4 2 3 New York City 1,861.4 8 4 New...

Municipal Market Data Total Returns.
April 1, 2003... Maturities 15 Years and Longer -- Periods Ending March 28, 2003 Previous Month Year Week To Date To Date General obligation (composite) +2.276% -0.208% +1.419% Aaa (pure) +1.839 -0.675 +1.271 ...

Market Indicators.
April 1, 2003... Dollar amounts are in millions Day's 2003 2003 Daily Yesterday Change High Date Low Date Municipal Bond Index 110-06 +13/32 111-00 (3/12) 107-26 (1/9) 40 Average Dollar Price 101.14 ...

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Yields.
April 1, 2003... Mar. 31, 2003 Mar 28, 2003 Apr. 1, 2002 Selected MIG-1/SP-1+ Notes California Rans 2 1/2s (June 03) 1.15 1.20 1.55 Los Angeles Co Trans 3s (June 03) 1.02 1.00 1.55 New York City Rans 2 1/2s (Apr 03) 1.05...

U.S. Securities Prices.
April 1, 2003... Prices as of 3:45 p.m. EST. Source: GovPx Inc. Treasury Bills Yesterday's Prev. Day's Yesterday's (in percent of discount) Bid/Offer Bid/Offer Bid Yield 1M -- 4/24/2003 1.135/125 1.130/125 1.155 3M --...

Municipal Market Data General Obligation Yields.
April 1, 2003... Aaa Aaa (pure) (ins) Aa A Baa 2004 1.07 1.13 1.12 1.30 1.78 2008 2.50 2.61 2.59 2.89 3.50 2013 3.63 3.74 3.72 4.06 4.61 2018 4.13 4.24 4.22 4.54 5.10...

New-Issue Balances.
April 1, 2003... (,000 Omitted) *Since initial reoffering + Revised upward since last report Amount Date NEW OFFERINGS Sold Balance $26,000 3/31 St. Paul Ind. Sch. Dist. #625, Minn. (2 iss.) $15,890 $10,110 ...

Reoffering Yields.
April 1, 2003... NRO - Not Reoffered; S.B. - Sealed Bid; SNA - Sold, Not Available Offer Amount Date ($Mil) RECENT OFFERINGS 1 Year 5 10 15 20 25 30 Aaa -- AAA 3/19 11.0 Royse City I.S.D., Tex. (PSF gtd.) ... 2.60 3.80 4.38 ... ...

Municipal Bond Index.
April 1, 2003... Yesterday Previous Day Week Ago The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index 110-06 109-25 108-20 Monday, March 31, 2003 Maturity Par Call Dollar Conversion Converted Date Date Price Factor Price ...

Municipal Bond Prices.
April 1, 2003... These 40 Bonds are evaluated and priced daily by Standard & Poor's Securities Evaluations. All figures are rounded to the nearest eighth when reported in this table. "Change in Bid" is rounded after calculation. Dollar Change ...

Municipal Bond Index Update.
April 1, 2003... The list of bonds used to calculate the Municipal Bond Index was revised after the March 31 pricing. The new coefficient is 1.0163. It was derived by dividing the March 31 index (110.189601) by the average converted price of the new set...

Kansas Governor Wants to Tap $175M in Tobacco, But Others Sound Alarm.
April 1, 2003... Despite a cloud of uncertainty rising over tobacco bonds, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius wants to join the list of states using the financial ploy to overcome a growing budget deficit. Sebelius hopes to issue $175 million of revenue bonds...

Texas Schools Facing a Hole in State, Local Funding.
April 1, 2003... Texas public schools are scrambling to figure out how they'll bridge funding gaps caused by a legislative plan to eliminate $2.6 billion of state education funding, while Standard & Poor's pointed out yesterday that the current school finance...

Competitive Bond Offerings.
April 1, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Tuesday, April 1 Cherokee Co County BOE AL Sch...

Competitive Note Offerings.
April 1, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Tuesday, April 1 Maine Sch Admin Dt...

Negotiated Bond Offerings.
April 1, 2003... Tentative dates for negotiated sales of $1 million or more. Please fax all pricing & award Information to 212-989-8442. Week Of March 31 Birmingham AL GO Ref 19,835 Merchant Capital -- -- -- AA AA- Mar 25 ...

Negotiated Note Offerings.
April 1, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) LEAD MANAGER INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH FIRST APPEARED Tuesday, April 1 Youngstown CSD OH GO Bond Antic 33,198 A.G. Edwards -- -- MIG1 -- -- Mar 28 ...

Results of Negotiated Sales.
April 1, 2003... CALIFORNIA Hermosa Beach School District Mar 19, 2003 $9,579,401 2003 General Obligation Bonds, Election of 2002, Series A (FGIC Insured) (bank qualified) (book entry) $9,380,000. Dated Apr 1, 2003. Due Aug 1, 2004 to...

Results of Competitive Sales.
April 1, 2003... MICHIGAN Alaiedon (Township) Mar 31, 2003 $675,000 Special Assessment Water Bonds, Series 2003A (bank qualified) (book entry). Dated Apr 1, 2003. Due May 1, 2005 to 2023. Callable May 1, 2012 at par. Winning...

US Airways Stuns Pittsburgh Hub By Demanding Lease Negotiation.
April 2, 2003... At the 11th hour, just before emerging from bankruptcy, US Airways Inc. decided to negotiate new leases at Pittsburgh International Airport, stunning local officials who said they had expected the airline to assume the existing leases. At...

Panels Pass Supplemental Spending Bills: Homeland Security At Center of Debate.
April 2, 2003... The House and Senate Appropriations Committees yesterday approved separate supplemental spending bills that would provide $80 billion to help pay for the war with Iraq, including up to $2.2 billion to help state and local governments cover the...

The Digest.
April 2, 2003... Municipal bond yields rose two basis points yesterday while in the new-issue market underwriters priced $550 million of New York City Transitional Finance Authority future-tax-secured bonds. Complete market coverage by Nicholas Chesla appears...

Tobacco Debt in Turmoil: Moody's Downgrade Puts Many Deals in Doubt.
April 2, 2003... The downgrade by Moody's Investors Service of $19 billion of outstanding tobacco bonds late Monday, and recent events that led up to it, threw a wrench into the municipal bond market yesterday, delaying one deal from closing and putting future...

News In Brief: Construction Spending Dips 0.2% in Feb.
April 2, 2003... Construction spending fell 0.2% in February, according to Commerce Department figures released yesterday. Total construction spending decreased to $872.2 billion, following a revised 2.0% rise in January, to $873.7 billion, which initially...

News In Brief: ISM Index Slumps To 46.2 in March.
April 2, 2003... The overall economy expanded for the 17th straight month in March, while the manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in five months, the Institute for Supply Management reported yesterday. According to the ISM's monthly report on...

News In Brief: Broaddus: Odds Favor Stronger Growth Ahead.
April 2, 2003... Once geopolitical concerns clear, "the odds are good" for economic recovery, according to J. Alfred Broaddus, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Lecturing business students at Johns Hopkins University on Monday night,...

News In Brief: Treasury 4-Weeks Go at 1.155% High.
April 2, 2003... The Treasury Department yesterday auctioned $19 billion of four-week bills at a 1.155% high yield, a price of 99.910. The coupon equivalent was 1.177%. The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.57. Tenders at the high rate were allotted 33.73%. The...

Tuesday's Market: Muni Yields Rise Two Basis Points; N.Y.C. TFA Prices $550 Million.
April 2, 2003... Municipal bond yields rose two basis points yesterday, while in the new-issue market underwriters priced $550 million of New York City Transitional Finance Authority future-tax-secured bonds. Treasuries were mostly lower while equities...

Fate of $26M of Memphis Housing Debt in Court's Hands.
April 2, 2003... Bondholders of about $26 million in defaulted multifamily housing bonds sold in 1998 to finance a church group's purchase of apartment complexes in Memphis will be in bankruptcy court tomorrow for a hearing that could determine how much of...

Maine Governor Unveils 2-Year Transportation Plan, Including $75 Million of Debt.
April 2, 2003... Maine Gov. John Baldacci introduced the second of four bond ballot initiatives that will be put before the state Legislature, a $622 million two- year transportation plan that includes $75 million of state borrowing.The Democratic governor's...

Wyoming Senator Reintroduces Legislation Expanding Use of IDBs.
April 2, 2003... Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., yesterday reintroduced legislation that would make it easier for small manufacturers to use small-issue industrial development bond financing to expand their operations.The stand-alone bill would raise the...

Mississippi Gov. Promises Veto of Reserve Spending Plan.
April 2, 2003... Mississippi lawmakers on Monday used much of the state's reserves to build the $3.6 billion budget for fiscal 2004, a move which potentially places pressure on the state's credit rating, according to one analyst. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said...

Hetch Hetchy Restoration Agency Ready to Roll.
April 2, 2003... Members of a new authority that will oversee a multibillion-dollar restoration of Northern California's aging Hetch Hetchy water system will assume office tomorrow night. State Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, authored the legislation that...

Disclosure Facility: Muni Council Adds Dissemination Partners to Finalist List.
April 2, 2003... In a surprise move, the Muni Council yesterday added Dissemination Partners Inc., a subsidiary of the nationally recognized repository DPC Data Inc., to the four firms it chose last week as finalists in the competition to develop and operate a...

People: Former Muni Overseer Exits SEC; Harlan to Join Accounting Board.
April 2, 2003... Alden Adkins, a former Securities and Exchange Commission official who had supervisory authority over the Office of Municipal Securities, joined the Pacific Exchange in San Francisco yesterday. At the same time, SEC chairman William...

Expansion: Advest Puts Two Florida Offices Under Lebenthal.
April 2, 2003... Lebenthal & Co. has expanded into the south Florida market. Advest Inc., which acquired the New York-based municipal bond brokerage firm in 2001, on Monday converted two of its regional branch offices into part of its Lebenthal division. ...

Bond Insurers: MBIA's Triple-A Safe Despite CDO Exposure, Merrill Says.
April 2, 2003... MBIA Insurance Corp.'s triple-A credit quality is not in danger due to its exposure to collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps, according to a Merrill Lynch & Co. report released last month. "Given the monitoring systems,...

Deal in Focus: Fond Farewell, Comiskey Park; Hello, U.S. Cellular Field.
April 2, 2003... The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority -- owner of Comiskey Park -- yesterday approved a $68 million naming-rights deal between the Chicago White Sox and U.S. Cellular Corp. that relies on a unique financing plan, including a $45 million...

ILLINOIS: Runway Ripped Up.
April 2, 2003... Citing security and terrorism concerns, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley abruptly shut down the city's downtown airport, Meigs Field, and city crews tore up its single runway late Sunday night. Daley and members of his cabinet made the decision...