Top stories
The top news stories in Michigan during 2008 included:
- Auto bailout. As a result of the 2008 financial crisis, the Great Recession, and substantial increases in the price of gasoline, Detroit's Big Three automakers saw substantial declines in their sales, particularly of sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks. In September 2008, the Big Three asked for $50 billion to pay for health care expenses and avoid bankruptcy and ensuing layoffs, and Congress approved a $25 billion loan. By December, President Bush agreed to an emergency bailout of $17.4 billion to be distributed by the next administration in January and February.
- Kwame Kilpatrick. On September 4, following months of controversy, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced his resignation as mayor, effective September 18, and pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice. In a separate assault case, he pleaded no contest to one felony count of assaulting and obstructing a police officer in exchange for a second assault charge being dropped. The plea deal also required his resignation as mayor. Kilpatrick was sentenced on October 28, 2008, to 120 days in jail. Detroit City Council President Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. replaced Kilpatrick as mayor on September 19.
- Democratic election victories. Democratic candidates achieved significant victories in the November 6 elections, including Barack Obama receiving 57% of the votes in the presidential election; Carl Levin's reelection to the U.S. Senate with 62.66% of the votes; Democratic candidates, Gary Peters and Mark Schauer, flipping U.S. House seats previously held by Republicans; and Democrats flipping 10 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives election.
- 2008 Michigan Proposal 1. Also on November 6, Michigan voters approved a ballot initiative allowing the medical use of marijuana for seriously ill patients. The initiative passed by a margin of 3,006,820 votes (62.67%) to 1,790,889 (37.33%).
- Film industry in Michigan. The Michigan Film and Digital Media Incentive was signed into law on April 7, 2008, by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. The program offered nationally competitive film incentives that coincided with the automotive industry crisis. Projects drawn to Michigan included Gran Torino (2008), Motor City Motors (2009), Hung (2009-2011), Conviction (2010), and Kill the Irishman (2011).
Key sports stories included:
Notable Michigan related deaths included former UAW president Douglas Fraser, Nobel Prize winner Thomas Huckle Weller, and Four Tops vocalist Levi Stubbs.
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