Progress Illinois

The scene on the 3400 block of West Albany on Chicago’s Northwest Side speaks for itself. Four large apartment buildings that recently fell into foreclosure sit vacant and boarded up. Community activist Diane Limas is asking the pertinent question: “What good does this do anyone?”

Today we caught up with Limas who, along with some other members of the Albany Park Neighborhood Council (the group that inspired Cook Co. Sheriff Tom Dart’s foreclosure eviction moratorium last fall), is currently on her way to Washington, D.C. to lobby Sen. Dick Durbin and Chicago Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Danny Davis, and Luis Gutierrez for their help in slowing the vicious foreclosure cycle.

Limas says the time for action is now. Otherwise, as more property owners go belly up, banks will continue to abruptly clear out buildings, pushing more unsuspecting renters onto the streets and creating blight for those left behind. Congress needs to set the tone that this vicious cycle is unacceptable. For starters, the Albany Park group is proposing a mandate that lenders who got federal bailout money allow renters to stay put and help pay the bills until their building is sold.

“Until the banks start really thinking,” says Limas, “I think the legislators really need to get tough on the banks.”

On the state level, Rep. Will Burns (D-Chicago) last week introduced a bill in Springfield to establish safeguards for the thousands of Illinois tenants caught in the foreclosure crossfire. The Mortgage Foreclosure Tenant Notice proposal (HB 3863) would essentially create a “Bill of Rights” for renters whose buildings are foreclosed upon. The idea is to ensure the receive (the party that finds itself in the control of the property -- most often a bank) establishes lines of communication with their tenants and is responsible for essential repairs and utilities.

Some highlights from the bill, which if passed would go into effect immediately:

-Tenants must be given written notice noting their right to remain on the premises;
-Should a new owner step in, occupants must be informed that the property has changed hands, in some cases within 7 days;
-Sets the minimum standard for whomever controls the building to maintain an environment that’s “safe, healthful, and fit for occupancy”;
-Barring court permission, receivers can’t raise rents.

Considering that the Woodstock Institute’s latest count shows 7,319 multi-unit buildings in Chicago have gone into foreclosure since January 1, this is a proposal that deserves lawmakers' immediate attention.