Category Archives: Debt
Report: Illinois In Dire Financial Straits
The Prairie State ranked 44th overall in a recent economic survey. Should Illinois lawmakers consider bankruptcy as a way to obtain a fresh start? Illinois’ rank was even lower (48th) in terms of outmigration, or the number of people leaving the state versus the number of people moving into the state. There are various… Read More »
The ITT Bankruptcy And Student Loans
According to a government estimate, Uncle Sam will eventually spend about $461 million in education debt bailouts for students of the now-defunct college, but as these debts are only dischargeable in bankruptcy in limited circumstances, a taxpayer-funded bailout is probably the only option. The closed school discharge — a loophole in most federally-guaranteed student… Read More »
Honk Honk: Parking Tickets And Bankruptcy
While the number of filings has declined overall, Chicago has the the highest number of non-business Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings in the country, and almost half of them list the Chicago Parking Bureau as one of the creditors. The Windy City is notorious for its high parking ticket fines and aggressive collection procedures. In… Read More »
Should Financially Distressed Illinois Cities File Bankruptcy?
The nonprofit Manhattan Institute says that an “intervention bankruptcy” is a good option for cities experiencing pressing financial problems, as long as politicians are kept out of the loop. Such a course of action is highly preferable to continuing operations on the brink of insolvency, because eventually they get to a point “where they… Read More »
Dischargeable Bankruptcy Debts
Mortgage underwriters talk a lot about debt-to-income ratio, and as a rule of thumb, a 43 percent DTI ratio is the ceiling for mortgage qualification purposes. The thinking is that people who owe more money than that cannot afford to pay it back, and therefore they are very poor credit risks. So, according to… Read More »
The Freshest Start Of All
General Motors intends to take its ignition switch liability argument all the way to the Supreme Court. Earlier, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the automaker is still responsible for damages stemming from defective ignition switches, even though the company declared bankruptcy in 2009 and emerged a short time… Read More »
Eliminating Debt Through Bankruptcy
It would be nice if bankruptcy was a magic wand that instantly discharged all consumer debts. After all, bankruptcy is a fresh start, and people cannot obtain this fresh start while still saddled with debts they cannot pay. Alas, the world does not work that way, largely because moneylenders have financial rights as well,… Read More »
Trump Adds ‘King Of Bankruptcy’ To His Cabinet
President-elect Donald Trump tapped multi-millionaire investor Wilbur Ross to be his Commerce Secretary. Some people in and around industrial Northwest Indiana call Mr. Ross the “king of bankruptcy,” because in the past, he has purchased companies in distressed industries at a discount, often while they are in bankruptcy, and either liquidated their assets or… Read More »
The Financial Comeback Trail
Abraham Lincoln, one of Illinois’ favorite sons, declared bankruptcy in 1833. In his early 20s, Lincoln worked various jobs in Springfield, and that work included employment at a local general store. When the establishment closed, the young and enterprising Lincoln decided to open his own store in New Salem with a business partner. The… Read More »
The Comeback Trail
Bankruptcy blog sites are often replete with posts about recoveries from bankruptcy; for example, Abraham Lincoln, Cyndi Lauper, and Larry King all filed bankruptcy and they turned out alright. Their stories, and others like them, are both true and inspiring, and they show us that bankruptcy is a fresh start in the game as… Read More »
