Wednesday could be a historic day for Detroit.
Nearly 13 years ago, it was a headline that shocked the world, but for Detroit, it had been coming for a while.
On July 18, 2013, the city of Detroit became the largest city in American history to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
At the time, the city was drowning in $18 billion of debt.
40% of its streetlights didn’t work. Across the city, you could find more than 78,000 abandoned buildings.
After failing to get creditors, unions and pension boards to accept cuts, emergency manager Kevyn Orr filed for bankruptcy with the support of then-governor Rick Snyder.
But look at where Detroit stands today -- the city’s credit score has gone up, billions of dollars of investment have poured in, the new Hudson building, a new Henry Ford tower, new green space and affordable housing, a large chunk of abandoned houses have been demolished, and the city is growing.
Recent census data shows Detroit gained more than 7,000 residents -- reversing a 60-year trend.
April 15, 2026, could be the day it all officially comes to a close.
Last week, the city began its final distribution -- about $10 million in accrued interest to creditors. These are the final court-supervised distributions in the entire case.
Attorneys could file a motion Wednesday to officially close the case. But to talk about how far Detroit has come, and what still needs to happen, Nathan Bomey, who covered the bankruptcy for the Detroit Free Press and now reports for Axios, joined Local 4 Live.
You can watch the full interview in the video at the beginning of this article.
Bomey also authored the award-winning documentary “Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of Detroit.”