The number of Illinois foreclosures are up a whopping 34 percent between the third quarter of 2012 and quarter three of 2011, according to RealtyTrac, even as foreclosures are down nationally. The number is somewhat deceptive because foreclosures in Illinois go through the judicial process, unlike many other states. Foreclosures can therefore be completed years after the homeowner stopped making mortgage payments.

That said, the Illinois housing market is on a slow road to recovery. "The market's not strong here," Geoff Smith, executive director from the Institute of Housing Studies told WBEZ.