In Chicago, for instance, the Board of Education has variously been described as "a gambler at the end of his run," a reference to officials' bad habits when it comes to skipping pension payments and borrowing heavily to stay afloat. "Let's be clear Chicago Public Schools are in dramatic trouble," Governor Bruce Rauner said in December. "They're looking at a disaster somewhere in the next nine months."

Just this month, the Board sold another $725 million in bonds at punishing interest rates of up to 8.5%. Here's a look at the 2042s: