Illinois Sheriff Takes a Stand Against Foreclosure Evictions

(Photo: Chicago Sun-Times)

The foreclosure crisis has taken a toll on Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. His department is charged with carrying out the evictions on foreclosed properties. Given the exorbitant increase in foreclosures this year, he's been quite busy.

This morning, however, Sheriff Dart announced he is ordering his deputies to stop evicting people from foreclosed properties, effective immediately. Here's an excerpt from a statement he made in the Chicago Sun Times:

On any given day, our deputies could be asked to throw a family out of their home, with all of their possessions left on a curb -- sometimes pilfered through by those living nearby.

Where mortgage firms see pieces of paper, my deputies see people.

Yet no matter how difficult they are, evictions are part of our job.

What isn't part of our job, however, is to carry out work on behalf of the multi-billion-dollar banks and mortgage industries.

Too many times, our deputies arrive at a home to carry out a mortgage foreclosure eviction, only to find a tenant -- dutifully paying their rent each month -- who is unaware their landlord stopped using that rent money to pay the mortgage. They had no fair warning that they were about to be thrown out of their home.

That's because, in many cases, the banks have done nothing to determine, in advance, who's living in the building -- even though it's required by state law. Instead, those banks expect taxpayers to pay for that investigative work for them.

(So banks are receiveing a $700 billion dollar bailout AND loading their dirty work on the shoulders of our public servants? *perplexed*)

It's easy to understand why he's fed up. Many of the people hardest hit by foreclosures are renters. Oftentimes, these are people working low-wage jobs living paycheck-to-paycheck. When hit with an eviction notice, they often have no savings and few options. Many become homeless.

According to Dart, one-third of the 400-500 evictions they've carried out per month have been renters. Most of these individuals and families had not been notified that their property was being being foreclosed upon, even though 120 days notice is required prior to eviction in Illinois. According to MSNBC, Dart will now require banks to provide a court affidavit proving the home’s occupant is either the owner or has been properly notified of the foreclosure proceedings.

A national foreclosure database confirms that Sheriff Dart is the first law enforcement official in a major metropolitan area to stop carrying out foreclosure evictions. I certainly hope he won't be the last.