The City of Hartford Connecticut has hired Nancy Mitchell ofGreenberg Traurig LLP to help it navigate its options, including a potential Chapter 9 filing. The city has $672mm of debt (excluding a $70mm guarantee of the local minor league baseball team stadium (W.T.F.)). The city's bonds have traded up (enter distressed investors here) and the state is considering a 60 bps sales tax increase. Why has all of this happened? This has some good information and, we might add, it definitely does NOT serve as solid PR for finance recruiters. Meanwhile, Illinois finally passed a budget - over the governor's veto.