[RayChuang88]

Cook County--the county of the city of Chicago--makes up most of the financial mess of the state of Illinois. Mayor Rahm Emanuel MUST swallow his pride, realize Cook County's dire financial straits, and declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy for that County. Only way that Illinois can dig out of its final quagmire.

[PBRCat]

And in their collective wisdom, Chicago dominated Cook County still has separate city and county governments duplicating many, if not all, services. Saner municipalities in similar straits merged the entire county and city into a single unit to save money.