20131776 Club
Kevyn Orr files Chapter 9; Detroit lists debts of up to $20 billion
The city of 700,000 becomes the largest by population ever to seek bankruptcy protection, its revenue down more than 20 percent since 2008.
By July 2013, Detroit's population had fallen to 700,000, down from 1.8 million in 1950, and its revenue had dropped more than 20 percent since 2008. Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr, appointed that March after the state declared a financial emergency, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy on July 18, 2013, listing debts estimated between 18 and 20 billion dollars. It was the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history, and the largest city by population ever to file. Mayor Dave Bing offered little comfort: the people of Detroit, he said, would have to make the best of it…
