A cursory glance at foreclosure data released Friday by the Woodstock Institute might suggest a downturn in the number of foreclosures in the Chicagoland area. In the six Chicagoland counties studied, there was a 51 percent decline in home auction activity when the first halves of 2010 and 2011 were compared. The largest declines in foreclosure activity occurred in Lake and Cook counties, which both saw 55 percent reductions during those periods.
But a closer look at the data reveals a cumbersome problem: the foreclosure process time is at an all-time high, meaning home loans, and borrowers, are finding themselves in a logjam of paperwork and bureaucracy at the service provider.
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Action Now put more pressure on big banks to clean up and secure their foreclosed properties last week. Using a vacant lot located at 726 N. Kedzie as a backdrop, the community organization pressed the city to enforce its Vacant Property Ordinance. In June, a woman was 