CHICAGO - U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes, who oversaw Detroit's historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy, will retire Feb. 18, the court announced Friday.
"The Honorable Judge Steven Rhodes is retiring after 30 years on the bench," a court statement read. "Judge Rhodes' last day on the bench will be Wednesday February 18th 2015."
An official request for the appointment of a new judge to preside over any unresolved issues relating to Detroit's bankruptcy has been submitted to Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr., chief judge of the Sixth Circuit of the U.S. Appeals Court, according to a court statement. Rhodes presides in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Detroit's bankruptcy had delayed Rhodes' original retirement plans, according to past profiles published in local reports.
Rhodes' most recent notable action in the Detroit case involved the approval of $183 million of fees charged by professionals during the city's bankruptcy. In the ruling, he heaped praise on the attorneys and consultants who worked on the city's behalf. The judge's opinion is one of the last remaining aspects of the high-profile Chapter 9 case.
Rhodes approved the city's bankruptcy exit plan in December 2014, but ordered all attorneys and other professionals who worked for the city into mediation to try to agree to discounts. The firms then defended their final fees in court filings throughout January. The case was first filed in July 2013.
