Detroit is taking its first steps to get back on its feet after filing for bankruptcy on Thursday by making major cuts to pensions for thousands of city's current retirees. The City's Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr will also meet with a federal court judge for the first hearing in Detroit's bankruptcy case.

The Detroit Free Press noted that Orr expects to steer Detroit out of Chapter 9 bankruptcy by September 2014, but he will have to make "significant cuts" to 21,000 retired city workers' pensions, which would account for a $3.5 billion shortfall.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder blamed the city's roughly $19 billion debt on corruption and city leaders ignoring warning signs for the past 60 years, according to Fox News.

“This is a tragic, difficult decision, but a right one,” he told CBS' "Face the Nation." “It’s not about just more money, it’s about accountable government.”

SEE ALSO: Motor City Files For Municipal Bankruptcy

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes agreed to the expedited hearing requested by Orr on Friday in the wake of a Michigan court judge's order for Orr to withdraw Thursday's Chapter 9 filing on state constitutional grounds, Reuters reported.

If  approved, lawsuits  to stop the city's bankruptcy proceedings will be put on hold. Concerned that their retirement benefits will be drained, Detroit retirees, workers and pension funds have been running to state court in Lansing, Michigan to try and derail the biggest Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Motor City is also reviewing all its assets to see what could possibly be sold to help reduce its billions of dollars of debt. While Orr says nothing is for sale, NPR says that parts of Detroit's art museum, Institue of Arts, could be liquidated and sold to the highest bidder for a few billion dollars.

Washington has yet to offer any help.

Can we help Detroit? We don’t know,” Vice President Joe Biden said last week.

“That's something that local leaders and creditors are going to have to resolve,” he said. “But we will be partners in an effort to assist the city and the state as they move forward.”

SEE ALSO: Protest Against Emergency Financial Manager In Detroit

Detroit is not alone. Los Angeles' estimated debt is as much as $30 billion and Chicago has a reported unfunded pension liability of almost $20 billion.

Detroit has to prove its right to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection to get any help, then Orr has to prove the city is insolvent.

Read the whole story at the Detroit Free Press

Reach editor-in-chief Brianna Sacks here