Illinois Village Files for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy
Posted on Aug 22, 2009 12:09pm PDT
In southwestern Illinois, a village by the name of St. Clair County has filed for
Chapter 9 bankruptcy. According to reports, the village faced multiple debts with various organizations, including police pensions.
St. Clair County filed its bankruptcy petition last month. At this time, it is hoping that the government will be able to help restructure its financial allocation. Officials from the county say that St. Clair owes its two largest creditors a substantial amount of money. They say that the county owes $440,000 to the Illinois Department of Employment Security and $300,000 to John "Chico" Matt, the county's former public safety chief.
"Creditors and lawsuits have been steadily coming after us," mayor John Thornton told the Belleville News-Democrat. "We didn't have enough money to meet our payroll and pay everybody else. We had no choice but to file for bankruptcy."
It is reported that St. Clair County is currently suffering from an increase in theft crimes and that most residents are living well-below the poverty line due to the village's debt. Chapter 9 bankruptcy is rarely filed for in the United States, but it appears that the village has no other course of action at its disposal at this time.
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