That is the number of rental units in foreclosed properties in Chicago. In a report (PDF) issued Thursday by the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, the 17,467 rental units came from 5,904 apartment buildings within Chicago -- which amounts to tens of thousands of Chicagoans who were left homeless in 2010.

The banks involved in the majority of the foreclosure filings are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, Deutsche Bank, US Bank, and CitiMortgage.

The Albany Park Neighborhood Council (APNC) called on those big banks to “do the right thing” and not immediately evict the innocent tenants in foreclosed properties. Typically, banks try to vacate the buildings as soon as possible, contending that they do not wish to be landlords or manage a rental complex. But displacing families blights entire communities and vacant buildings often become a safety issue, APNC’s Diane Limas said.

Ald. Richard Mell (33rd Ward) is now taking on the issue, pledging to intervene on multi-unit building foreclosures to negotiate tenant protections. Mell said he will push to help new purchasers with appropriate tax increment financing (TIF) funds to off-set the purchaser’s cost, if they agree to maintain the property as affordable rentals. Just last month, City Council passed a related policy measure, the Vacant Building TIF Purchase and Rehabilitation Ordinance. The ordinance allows residents with a household income no greater than 100 percent of the regional median income to apply for a TIF grant that would pay for up to 25 percent of the cost of purchasing and rehabilitating an empty residential property.