This afternoon, the city of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, making it the largest city in the history of the United States to do so. Kevin Orr, who was appointed by the state of Michigan to oversee the crisis, asked a federal judge for protection under the provision. This would begin a 30 to 90-day discovery period to determine whether or not Detroit is eligible for Chapter 9's shield, as well as how many parties would fight for the scarce settlement resources the city has at its disposal.
It will take what USA Today calls a "historic effort" to dig Detroit out of the billion-dollar hole of debt that it's fallen into.
