Yvonne Ross, Yolanda King and Rose Roots are suing the City of Detroit. (Credit: WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com)
DETROIT (WJBK) -
"When I came to Michigan and Detroit, in particular, I was impressed with how people in the City of Detroit lived," said Yvonne Ross.
However, that was 30 years ago and the Detroit three women see today is a lot different.
"There was a time when there were seniors on the block, people looked out for the seniors. Now the seniors are looked out for someone to be preyed upon," said Rose Roots.
"You go to downtown Detroit and you see plenty of police officers, but you call them when you're not downtown, call them when you have somebody breaking into your house, and see what the response is," said Yolanda King.
"I am hurt. I'm angry," Ross said.
Ross, Roots and King have lived in Detroit for decades, and like so many, their frustration with the current state of the city has reached a boiling point and the consent agreement was the final straw.
"We're being told what to do with no input. What we say does not matter," said Ross.
Now they've filed a lawsuit, not against the state, but the City of Detroit, the City Council and Mayor Dave Bing. They claim the city had no right to agree to the Financial Stability Agreement, and they are making a lot of the same arguments Detroit Corporation Counsel Krystal Crittendon made in her lawsuit, claiming the state owes the city millions of dollars in unpaid bills and revenue sharing, thus making the consent agreement invalid.
Both King and Ross work for the city. Roots is retired. All three are union members, but they say this has nothing to do with the union and everything to do with being citizens.
"To appoint people to come into the city and be paid money for a city they say is going broke and pay their staff whatever amount of staff they choose, there's something wrong with the system," said Roots.
However, legal experts say this lawsuit could be thrown out because the judge could rule that, as citizens, these women don't have legal standing, but they believe they do because they live there and are affected by every decision that's made.
"I want to be able to live here with some dignity," said King.
We contacted the mayor's office and were told no comment. Meanwhile, a hearing is scheduled for July 13.
Monday, May 20 2013 11:08 PM EDT2013-05-21 03:08:56 GMT
A small dog was taken from a woman's car on Sunday. Now a woman claims she wasn't trying to steal the dog. She was trying to save its life because it was locked in a car on a hot day.
A small dog was taken from a woman's car on Sunday. Now a woman claims she wasn't trying to steal the dog. She was trying to save its life because it was locked in a car on a hot day.
Thursday, May 16 2013 9:04 PM EDT2013-05-17 01:04:18 GMT
13 people were shot in Detroit in just 24 hours, five from one block, including a woman who was just hours away from a kidney transplant. She did not survive.
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Thursday, May 16 2013 8:23 PM EDT2013-05-17 00:23:43 GMT
54-year-old Almeter Walls was set to have a transplant surgery on Thursday, but instead she is dead. We're told she was shot when a neighborhood argument ended in gunfire. The shooting also left four others wounded.
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Tuesday, May 21 2013 2:12 PM EDT2013-05-21 18:12:17 GMT
An attorney for a former Michigan Supreme Court justice says community service would be an appropriate sentence for a scandal that forced her out of office.
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Tuesday, May 21 2013 12:01 PM EDT2013-05-21 16:01:58 GMT
The American Red Cross is working in a variety of ways and from several different areas of the country to help the victims of the tornadoes which struck in the nation's heartland.
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Tuesday, May 21 2013 11:48 AM EDT2013-05-21 15:48:16 GMT
Weather Authority Ben Bailey says the humidity has dropped since earlier this morning but the risk of severe weather still exists Tuesday throughout southeast Michigan.
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Tuesday, May 21 2013 11:31 AM EDT2013-05-21 15:31:20 GMT
As people struggle to pick up the pieces in the areas of Oklahoma ravaged by tornadoes, we've learned some relief will be coming from right here in Michigan.
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Tuesday, May 21 2013 9:50 AM EDT2013-05-21 13:50:04 GMT
Find out how you can help the victims of Monday's deadly tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs, killing dozens and flattening neighborhoods, schools and businesses.
Find out how you can help the victims of Monday's deadly tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs, killing dozens and flattening neighborhoods, schools and businesses.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 7:43 AM EDT2013-05-21 11:43:15 GMT
Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored 31 seconds apart midway through a previously scoreless game, helping the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 3-1 on Monday night for a 2-1 series lead.
Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored 31 seconds apart midway through a previously scoreless game, helping the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 3-1 on Monday night for a 2-1 series lead.
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Yvonne Ross, Yolanda King and Rose Roots are suing the City of Detroit. (Credit: WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com)
