Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of Detroit's relationship with former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick was arraigned on charges of running a criminal enterprise that used his positions of public trust to rig contracts.

Kilpatrick, sitting next to his father Bernard Kilpatrick, entered a plea of not guilty.

Unfortunately, the judge in the case said the criminal proceedings will not be fast-tracked because the case is "unusual and complex."

That's an apt description for Kwame Kilpatrick's relationship with Detroit. It's a relationship that needs to be severed forever if the city is going to begin the process of recovery.

The indictment charges that Kilpatrick -- dating back to his time in the Michigan state legislature -- used his influence to rig contracts. One contractor, Bobby Ferguson, was allegedly given tens of millions of dollars for work that he never performed or for contracts that were awarded through extortion.

Kilpatrick allegedly deposited $500,000 in unexplained cash deposits to his account while his father allegedly deposited $600,000.


Of course Kilpatrick is innocent until proven guilty. His attorney said Kilpatrick will vigorously defend the charges.

Given Kilpatrick's past history of problems, the new charges are not a good sign.

First, Kilpatrick resigned from office after lying under oath about an extramarital affair with his aide. He also allegedly settled an $8 million lawsuit to avoid the accusations about the affair becoming public.

After serving a few months in jail, Kilpatrick was ordered to repay $1 million in restitution to the city of Detroit. He landed a job at a computer company and moved to Dallas. Prosecutors there say Kilpatrick began receiving gifts and loans that he should have used to repay his debt. After ignoring warnings by a judge, Kilpatrick was sent back to jail for one and half to five years for violating his parole.

All of this has weighed on the city of Detroit as they try to pull themselves out of a tailspin. To deal with its shrinking population and falling revenue, Detroit is actually abandoning some areas of the city. Bus service is being cut and major downtown hotels are closing and in limbo.

Now Kilpatrick is further maligning the city's reputation with these charges. When he is on trial, efforts to help Detroit rebound will not be reported, but he scurrilous details of the accusations against Kilpatrick will.

A city that once ranked as one of America's greatest deserves better. Maybe once Kilpatrick falls from view forever they will get it.