In what’s being characterized as the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, the city of Detroit has filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection from creditors and unions who are renegotiating $18.5 billion in debt, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The city of 700,000 — down from 1.8 million in 1950 — may have up to $20 billion in liabilities, according to emergency manager Kevyn Orr. The sheer magnitude of the filing, which has implications for 30,000 current and retired city workers, could be precedent-setting and foreshadow how other financially distressed cities nationwide settle their debts, the Free Press reports. Source: freep.com.
