BloombergBusinessweek is reporting that Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr will soon be resigning. The Detroit City Council voted unanimously in late September to remove Orr as the Emergency Manager and his tenure was to end when the plan of adjustment was approved in bankruptcy court and implemented. The first of those two steps has happened. Orr’s resignation will likely come […]

The price tag for the attorneys and associated staff that are handling Detroit’s bankruptcy is expected to hit at least $200 million. However, some terrific reporting by WXYZ in Detroit is turning up some scandalous things. The law firms who are running the show are ringing up incredibly large tabs for things like receiving emails, reviewing press coverage, and one is even paid to take a chauffeured car in from another state. …

I was tempted to use all six facepalm images we have in our portfolio for this piece because it’s one of those “one facepalm isn’t adequate to convey my utter disgust” sort of moments. One of the big insurers that stands to lose money if its clients are forced to take a financial “haircut” in Detroit’s bankruptcy is Syncora. This […]

This week Michigan legislators passed a package of bills dubbed “The Grand Bargain” that will help our state’s largest city, Detroit, get back on its feet. Missing from that package was a bill that would have prevented regional municipalities from renewing the existing voter-approved 10-year millage or the levying a new millage to fund the Detroit Institute of Arts. (Details […]

Efforts by the Koch brothers front group Americans for Prosperity to scuttle the Detroit bankruptcy settlement were shot down in flames as the state legislature overwhelmingly voted yesterday to contribute $194.8 million toward the deal. This was the amount needed to ensure that the deal did not collapse and which saves the Detroit Institute of Arts’ priceless art collection while […]

In a shocking development that surprises absolutely nobody, we learn that the Koch brothers, through their front group Americans for Prosperity, is working overtime to sabotage the “grand bargain” settlement that would bring the city of Detroit out of bankruptcy, save the Detroit Institute of Arts’ priceless art collection, and keep innocent retired pensioners from being thrown into abject poverty […]

Because how could Detroit voters’ views be relevant to what happens to their city?

The Detroit Journalism Cooperative published a poll this week investigating views of the proposed “grand bargain” to pull Detroit out of bankruptcy. The good news is that the study finds strong support for the state pitching in with funding to help preserve workers’ pensions and the DIA. As Kevyn Orr tries to persuade Lansing Republicans to sign off on the deal, it’s good to know that he has voters behind him.

But here’s the thing: the poll only sampled voters who live outside the city of Detroit. 600 interviews, none of them within the city. This was intentional, not an oversight. Mlive offers the rationale that:

“Because the poll is intended to measure Michigan voters’ attitudes toward Detroit, the survey does not include interviews with Detroit voters.”

Republican House Jase Bolger is on what appears to be a one-man effort to extort money from Detroit labor unions. He recently laid down a new condition for state support of the so-called “grand bargain” in Detroit, a carefully-crafted and complex agreement that would protect the priceless art collection held by the Detroit Institute of Arts and dramatically minimize the […]

Oh, that’s rich Michigan House Republicans are in a tight spot. With concessions made by every party swept up in Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy and a deal in place that mostly preserves retiree pensions and the Detroit Institute of Arts’ priceless art collection, the only hurdle remaining is the state ponying up $350 million. Given how much money they’ve essentially stolen […]

It’s priceless art, not an “asset” The Detroit Free Press is reporting this afternoon that Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. has filed paperwork with the federal bankruptcy court overseeing Detroit’s bankruptcy showing that several four separate investors have made bids on the priceless art collection held by the Detroit Institute of Arts worth billions of dollars. A financial insurance giant that […]

Creative strongarming? Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has said for some time that he expects the Detroit Institute of Arts to come up with a half billion dollars of what can only be called ransom to help settle Detroit’s bankruptcy crisis. The expectation had the result of pitting the pensions of retired Detroit workers against priceless pieces of art held […]