Progress Illinois

The housing research firm RealtyTrac recently released a new set of data about foreclosure activity in the third quarter of this year. Simply put, the situation remains ugly in Illinois. Between July and September, banks repossessed 13,460 properties in the Land of Lincoln, a number that will add urgency to the widening dragnet into the banks' foreclosure practices. Yesterday, attorney generals from across the country, including Illinois' Lisa Madigan, announced they are joining with state regulators to investigate the use of robo-signers and the improper legal affidavits they churned out in foreclosure proceedings.

Many large banks have frozen foreclosures in the wake of the scandal. The attorney generals could start filing fraud cases as their inquiry digs into the extent of the issue. Madigan ripped the banks for putting millions of people into questionable loans and now wanting those people (and loans) to disappear. "Foreclosure is a fresh start for the lenders, who were way too eager to write high-risk, high-cost loans," she wrote at the Huffington Post. "It is a chance to bury evidence of their misdeeds and move on to a new buyer and new revenue."

The political and economic shocks stemming out from this situation aren't exactly clear yet. Madigan, meanwhile, said in a statement she wants new legislation that would "ensure each homeowner know[s] the amount they owe, who owns their loan, the terms of their original loan, and whom they can contact" during foreclosure proceedings. She also said she'll push for a federal "cramdown" bill allowing judges to reduce the principal amount on loans, thereby helping to keep distressed homeowners in their residences. Advocates have long sounded the alarm about getting the banks to execute more meaningful write-downs and loan modifications. It's a critical tool. 

Recessions are not ideal times to raise taxes. It's tough to boost consumer demand if you're taking money out of people's paychecks. That's why Democrats in Washington are pushing a proposal to extend the Bush-era tax cuts on everyone that makes under $250,000 annually. It might not be the most responsible policy initiative ever, but it's another attempt to keep the economy from sputtering.

If you read the State Journal-Register this morning, however, you might get the impression that the party in power wants to increase taxes dramatically on everybody. Kristina Rasmussen from the Illinois Policy Institute delivers the news:

A moribund economy with poor job conditions is leading families and businesses to more closely watch their bottom lines. Heading into the November elections, they don’t have to look very far to see major de-stabilizers ahead in the form of pending federal, state and local tax hikes.

A report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation found that the sunset of the 2001 and 2003 tax relief packages at the end of 2010 would cost the average middle-income Illinois family earning $68,958 some $1,640 in higher taxes in 2011.

There is literally nobody in the Congressional leadership who wants to see the tax cuts sunset on middle-income families. It's a straw man, pure and simple.

Newpaper editorial boards announced a few more endorsements over the past few of days that are worth noting. The Tribune tossed its weight behind GOP nominee Bill Brady for the office of Illinois governor, citing Jim Edgar's similar resume -- "downstater, largely unknown, not much of a record" -- when he came into office. "Does Brady have what it takes?" they asked. "We don't know, but we think he does." The Belleville-News Democrat in Southwestern Illinois and the Daily Herald also went in for Brady. (The Sun-Times previously choose Gov. Pat Quinn.)

The Tribune endorsed Democrat Jesse White for his current office of Secretary of State and Republican Dan Rutherford for State Treasurer. Lisa Madigan locked up their support for Attorney General, which included this laudatory excerpt:

Democrat Lisa Madigan has been a tireless advocate for consumers and taxpayers in her eight years as attorney general. She has worked to get felons out of state nursing homes and to increase state supervision of sex offenders. She campaigned to have dangerous drop-side cribs and infant car seats taken off the market. She has aggressively prosecuted Medicaid fraud, returning hundreds of millions of dollars to the state. She stood up to powerful gaming interests who wanted Illinois to allow a casino in Rosemont, which has well-established ties to organized crime. She blocked former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's short-sighted plan to sell the James R. Thompson Center to help balance the state budget. We could go on and on.

For the office of State Comptroller, GOP candidate Judy Baar Topinka picked up endorsements from both the Tribune and the Sun-Times. Meanwhile, Democrat Robin Kelly nabbed the Sun-Times' endorsement for State Treasurer. Kelly's boss, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias, garnered the Sun-Times' endorsement for President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.