Neal & Leroy

Practice Area

Public & Project Finance

Neal & Leroy’s public and project finance attorneys serve as bond, issuer’s, trustee’s, and underwriter’s counsel to municipalities, public authorities, and educational institutions across Illinois. 

Our Public & Project Finance Practice

How We Approach Public & Project Finance

Neal & Leroy has represented municipalities, public authorities, and educational institutions in public and project finance for more than 20 years. We’ve served as bond counsel, issuer’s counsel, trustee’s counsel, and underwriter’s counsel across general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, certificates of participation, industrial development bonds, and equipment leasing. Four of our attorneys, Langdon D. Neal, Jeanette Sublett, Anne L. Fredd, and Richard F. Friedman, are listed as bond counsel in the Bond Buyer’s Municipal Marketplace Directory.

Public finance transactions require close coordination among issuers, financial advisors, underwriters, trustees, and rating agencies.  For decades, our attorneys have helped clients navigate these complex, multi-party financings, supporting transactions ranging from municipal grant assistance to the financing and reconstruction of major public infrastructure projects.

We regularly advise municipalities throughout Chicago and Cook County on public finance transactions and the tax incentive programs that make development projects possible. From tax increment financing (TIF), grants, and other economic development incentives to bond financing and private investment, our attorneys help clients evaluate available funding sources and structure transactions from the earliest planning stages through closing. 

Many public finance matters also involve public-private partnerships, where public funding, private financing, and multiple stakeholder interests must be carefully aligned. We help clients navigate the legal and practical complexities of these transactions, including coordinating with lenders, developers, and public entities; ensuring compliance with applicable tax and municipal law requirements; and identifying potential legal issues early so they can be addressed before they affect the financing or closing process.

OUR PUBLIC & PROJECT FINANCE PRACTICE

  • Bond Counsel, Co-Bond Counsel, Issuer’s Counsel, Trustee’s Counsel, and Underwriter’s Counsel Representation
  • Certificates of Participation and Industrial Development Bonds
  • General Obligation and Revenue Bond Transactions
  • Public-Private Development Project Finance and Capital Stack Structuring
  • Tax Increment Financing and Municipal Grant Assistance

Our Work

Representative Matters

A selection of matters handled by our Public & Project Finance team. Client identities are anonymized or withheld where confidentiality applies.

Eminent Domain

  • Represented public university in acquisition of 100+ properties for major campus expansion project; structured TIF financing for the development; defended university in Federal court against alleged violation of National Historic Preservation Act.

HOUSING FINANCE

  • Served as Illinois Finance Authority issuer’s counsel for $10,500,000 in City of Chicago Variable Rate Demand Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds, Series 2010. Served as Illinois Finance Authority issuer’s counsel for $10,500,000 in City of Chicago Variable Rate Demand Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds, Series 2010, including drafting the bond purchase agreement, remarketing agreement, and official statement. Also served as Trustee’s Counsel for $11,300,000 and $33,000,000 in City of Chicago Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds, Series 2009 and 2010, and $18,910,000 in Series 2008 bonds for Seaway Bank and Trust Company.

MUNICIPAL BOND ISSUANCE

  • Served as City of Chicago’s issuer’s Counsel to the Public Building Commission of Chicago on bond issuance, sale, and delivery, including bond resolutions, official statements, lease agreements, TEFRA notices, and closing certificates.

PUBLIC & PROJECT FINANCE

  • Represented Rush University Medical Center in closing of $100 million Public Finance Entitlement for construction of a new hospital.

PUBLIC FINANCE

  • Public Finance. Served as co-bond counsel in the issuance of tax exempt municipal bonds in 2016 and 2018; served as co-underwriter’s counsel for issuance of refunding bonds.

REAL ESTATE

  • Annual exemption report preparation and filing with assessor. Survey and sidwell map review as well as tax overview research. Annual exemption report preparation and filing with assessor. Survey and sidwell map review, as well as tax overview research.

SPORTS & EXPOSITION FACILITIES

  • Served as Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority’s Underwriter’s Counsel for $97,075,000 in McCormick Place Expansion Bonds, Series 2012A, $746,213,759 in Series 2012B Refunding Bonds, and $12,020,000 in Series 2012C Refunding Bonds.

  • Served as Illinois Sports Facilities Authority’s Co-Underwriter’s Counsel for $292,475,000 in Refunding Bonds, Series 2014. Served as Illinois Sports Facilities Authority’s Co-Underwriter’s Counsel for $292,475,000 in Refunding Bonds, Series 2014

ZONING & LAND USE

  • Represented county in structuring deal to allow private development to rehab historic landmark hospital building.

  • Represents owner of historic commercial building seeking permission from landmark commission to rehabilitate the property; represents owner in application for real estate assessment tax reduction, historic tax credit and tax increment financing.

  • Represented various public and private clients on public right of way entitlements including vacation, dedication, privileges, easement agreements, draft ordinances for legislative approval, and appearances before various local government entities to obtain approval.

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