Lisa Madigan

CBS 2: Sources "All But Rule Out" Jackson Jr. As Obama Replacement

Josh Kalven — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:39:34 -0800

CBS 2's Mike Flannery sorted through the speculation about Obama's U.S. Senate replacement last night and offered up some interesting -- and unsourced -- developments. According to Flannery, the top three names on Gov. Blagojevich's shortlist are Tammy Duckworth, Emil Jones, and Rep. Luis Gutierrez. He further reported that former 10th District congressional candidate Dan Seals is perhaps being considered and that sources "all but rule out Jesse Jackson Jr." as a potential pick. Finally, Attorney General Lisa Madigan distanced herself from the process. Watch it:

Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin indicated yesterday that he's hoping to meet with Blagojevich to discuss the matter today:

“If I could meet with the governor — and we’re trying to set that up right now — I want to keep it confidential between us,” Durbin said. “(Planning a meeting) has been a little more difficult than I thought, but I think we’re going to be able to do it tomorrow.”

Durbin said some of his picks are not on the lists circulating through the media. His main concerns, he said, are finding someone who can represent all of Illinois’ 102 counties and can work well with him in Washington, D.C.

By all accounts, Durbin and Blagojevich have an icy, distant relationship, so it will be interesting to see if this meeting actually occurs.

(H/T HuffPo Chicago)

Countrywide Accord Paves Way For More Loan Remodifications

Angela Caputo — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:25:55 -0800

Last month, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan won a lawsuit that forced Countrywide Financial to establish an aggressive loan modification program to help an estimated 21,000 people in Illinois facing foreclosures. At the time, she described it as a "model that other lenders and services as well as the U.S. Treasury should look at."

In that vein, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced yesterday that they plan to adopt a similar program in the hopes of stemming the foreclosure tide. Like the Countrywide loans, which are now owned by Bank of America, the two government-backed agencies will begin adjusting the terms of at-risk mortgages based on income. The New York Times explains:

The program would be open to people who are at least three months delinquent on mortgages that are either owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The goal would be to reduce the monthly payments on all of those loans — by stretching the term to 40 years, or lowering the interest rate, or even lowering the amount of the loan — so that payments would not be higher than 38 percent of a family’s monthly income.

The measures are exactly the sort of concessions that the Woodstock Institute, an Illinois-based housing policy group, has been calling for since early on in the meltdown. JP Morgan Chase recently announced that it too will begin using income as a key factor in resetting home loans. Obviously the foreclosure crisis extends well beyond the loans issued by these four mortgage providers and housing activists are stressing the need for more widespread action.

It's not hard to see why. A new housing survey in the Chicago-area -- which not long ago was considered a relatively strong market -- found that a growing number of people are being forced to sell their homes at a loss.

That's going to add up to more trouble, warns Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Based on a decision to channel the remainder of the economic relief package to banks and financial institutions, it doesn't appear that the Bush administration is listening. Bair, however, is still eyeing the most prominent potential source for additional homeowner relief: what's left of the $700 billion bailout.

Madigan: Foreclosure Prevention Lacking

Adam Doster — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:43:33 -0700

It's no secret that home foreclosures are soaring. In a front-page article today, the Tribune noted that 30 percent of all U.S. mortgage holders will owe more on their homes than they are worth in just one year. Unfortunately, little is being done to help those struggling to stay under their roof.

According to a recent study (PDF) released by the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group -- the task force consisting of 11 attorneys general -- nearly eight out of 10 "seriously delinquent homeowners are not on track for any loss mitigation outcome," a number that rose between January and May of this year. In fact, loan modification efforts for at-risk homeowners dropped by 28 percent during that stretch, the lowest number enacted since 2007. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a leader of the commission, isn't too happy with the data.

"Unfortunately, this report shows that while the foreclosure crisis continues to intensify, lenders have not effectively sustained their efforts to help borrowers avoid foreclosure," Madigan said. "Now, nearly eighty percent of borrowers who are seriously delinquent are still not getting the help they need to try and save their homes."

What can be done? The commission and some affordable housing advocates think Madigan and California AG Jerry Brown's approach to the Countrywide settlement provides a helpful template. That loan modification plan offers $8.4 billion to Countrywide customers who were sold (or peddled, depending on one's point of view) adjustable-rate and fixed-rate subprime mortgages in order to reduce principal and interest payments. Bank of America, which now owns Countrywide, agreed to waive $56 million in prepayment penalties and $79 million in late fees, as well. Today, the commission issued a letter to 16 mortgage lending companies urging them to follow Bank of America's model. ACORN's Financial Justice Center national director Austin King agrees that such a proposal is needed:

More than any other action taken to date, this settlement provides a new model and a road map for actually fixing the problem underlying our deep economic woes, which is that too many Americans cannot afford the mortgage. Through interest rate reductions to as low as 2.5 % and principal write-downs, Countrywide will restructure mortgages so that borrowers are not paying more than 34% of their income toward all housing costs. Critically, this agreement also takes the first step toward addressing the coming crisis with resetting Payment Option ARMs, negatively amortizing loans where borrowers can choose monthly payments that increase their overall debt.

In other foreclosure news, Madigan stood by Cook County Sherriff Tom Dart's controversial plan to implement a moratorium on foreclosure evictions, mentioning that Dart is helping to enforce an Illinois law that requires a renter to be notified 120 days before being kicked to the curb. And Barack Obama announced today he supports a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures that would apply to banks receiving capital through the $700 billion rescue plan.

Countrywide Settles Lawsuit Filed By Madigan

Adam Doster — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:01:56 -0700

When Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued Countrywide Financial in June for engaging in deceptive mortgage lending practices, her goal was "to help homeowners now." It now appears she's done just that:

Countrywide Financial Corp., the home mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America Corp. in July, will offer interest rate and loan principal reductions plus other distressed borrower relief valued at $8.4 billion to settle consumer fraud complaints from 11 states.

The accord, which includes relocation assistance for homeowners whose homes have been or are about to be foreclosed, will affect about 400,000 customers and resolves lawsuits filed by attorneys general in Illinois, California, Connecticut and Florida and complaints from seven other states, according to attorneys general Lisa Madigan of Illinois and Edmund G. ``Jerry'' Brown of California.

While the bailout negotiations dominated the news last week, Madigan and her fellow attorneys general came to an agreement with Bank of America late last week. The deal establishes the nation's first mandatory mortgage relief program, making sure monthly payments do not exceed 32 percent of a family's household income, and should help 21,000 Illinois residents keep their homes:

"We will have the first-ever mandatory loan modification program. We're going to be using this as a model for other lenders," Madigan said. "Our goal was to keep as many people in Illinois as possible in their homes." [...]

The bulk of the settlement—$8.4 billion—represents the reduction in principal and interest payments for Countrywide customers who hold adjustable-rate and fixed-rate subprime mortgages. In addition, Countrywide expects to waive $56 million in prepayment penalties and $79 million in late fees. The firm will pay $150 million to people already forced out of their homes and another $60 million in relocation costs for people in the process of being forced from their homes.

It's no suprise that Countrywide -- by far the largest subprime lender in Illinois -- decided to settle out of court, considering that Madigan's case was reportedly air tight.

FOX News Misleads On Botanic Garden Investigation

Adam Doster — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:33:35 -0700

The Sun-Times reported yesterday that Attorney General Lisa Madigan is investigating a grant then-State Sen. Barack Obama issued in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer. The $100,000 appropriation was intended to fund a botanic garden in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, but was never built. On Fox News' Special Report last night, host Brit Hume highlighted the news during the "Grapevine" segment of the program. Media Matters provides the transcript and video:

But Hume conveniently omitted a crucial component of this story. Indeed, despite Rich Miller's warning when the Sun-Times article first surfaced, Hume didn't "scroll down for the buried nugget":

Madigan’s office has notified Obama’s presidential campaign of the probe, which was launched this week. But Obama’s actions in awarding the money are not a focus of the investigation, Smith said. [emphasis added]

Blagojevich, Madigan Lambast Bush's "Providers Conscience" Provision

Adam Doster — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:35:50 -0700

In late August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a new Bush-favored regulation to “help protect health care providers from [religious] discrimination." In essence, as many as 584,000 employers -- from major hospitals to doctors' offices and nursing homes -- could lose government funding if they don't certify in writing that they are complying with several federal laws that protect health care workers' "freedom of conscience." The AP has more:

Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said that health care professionals should not face retaliation from employers or from medical societies because they object to abortion.

"Freedom of conscience is not to be surrendered upon issuance of a medical degree," said Leavitt. "This nation was built on a foundation of free speech. The first principle of free speech is protected conscience."

Why would such a provision need to be passed, when providers are already covered under federal amendments and there is no evidence any are being forced to provide abortions under duress? Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says it's all about politics:

“This proposal would put politics above access to critical health-care services,” said Madigan, who urged state legislators to comment against the regulation as well. “At a time when so many Americans are struggling to find affordable health care and millions of women need access to family planning services, this proposal would severely limit women’s ability to obtain needed reproductive health care.”

Gov. Rod Blagojevich also offered his objections in a September 9 letter to HHS Secretary Michael Levitt:

This proposed regulatory change could cause untold harm to 600,000 women in Illinois who are uninsured and depend on government or non-profit healthcare services supported, in part, with federal funds. If this proposed rule is adopted, a healthcare provider would be able to refuse to tell a vulnerable patient about the range of safe, legal healthcare options available to her. This proposed rule is not about providers’ consciences, it is about restricting access to healthcare to those in need.

Madigan and Blagojevich aren't kidding. If passed, health care providers (pharmacists, doctors, nurses and others) could refuse to provide an array of services crucial to women's health -- abortions, family planning services, birth control pills, Plan B emergency contraception, and other forms of contraception. "Protection" would also be extended to anyone who might come into contact with a patient. The Center for American Progress' Jessica Arons writes that "by that logic, an ambulance driver, a receptionist, and even the person who processes health insurance forms might be able to refuse to perform their jobs if related to a health care service they find morally objectionable."

The rule could go into effect after a 30-day comment period, which ends Thursday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is expected to decide on the proposal later this fall.

Illinois Vs. Countrywide Financial: Open And Shut?

Adam Doster — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:03:03 -0700

Next week, Attorney General Lisa Madigan will visit Boston and learn to which federal court her lawsuit against the former mortgage giant Countrywide Financial will be assigned. As you may remember, Madigan filed a suit against Countrywide in June for engaging in deceptive lending practices. Does she have a shot of winning? The Reader's Whet Moser points us to an excellent Columbia Journalism Review piece by Dean Starkman that suggests Madigan's case is pretty tight. The whole article is worth your time, but here is one choice excerpt after the jump in which Starkman explains how "the evidence is becoming overwhelming of a profound structural shift in the U.S. lending industry -- one that institutionalized widespread deceptive practices and outright fraud perpetrated on borrowers":

And while they are only allegations, few would argue with California when it asserts that the more onerous the terms of a loan for the borrower—e.g. higher rates, prepayment penalties, etc.—the more global bond investors would pay for it; and is it really in doubt that everyone in the loan-supply chain, including the sales force, got higher pay the more onerous the terms? Or, as California puts it: “The value on the secondary market of the loans generated by a Countrywide branch was an important factor in determining the branch’s profitability and, in turn, branch manager compensation.”

Such incentives would logically set the table for the creation of vast call centers—“loan factories,” where retail sales staff were trained in “high-pressure” sales tactics, complete with scripts, cold calls, databases, etc., to “steer borrowers into riskier loans,” as California alleges. The eighty-one-page Illinois complaint, filed June 25, similarly describes a culture in which traditional banking values were turned on their heads and were aimed overwhelmingly toward “selling” loans, which is the opposite of traditional underwriting.

From 2004, Countrywide led the market in rolling out new “products” that were basically bureaucratic ways of approving a loan to anybody. The complaint said Countrywide threatened to fire underwriters for (my emphasis) “attempting to verify a borrower’s ability to pay.” [...]

The mortgage mania appears to have entered its Baroque phase sometime around 2004. That year, Countrywide approved a brokerage known as One Source Mortgage, Inc., owned by five-time felon Charles Mangold, which proceeded to embark on “rampant” fraud, Illinois says, including the wholesale doctoring of loan files.

Is The Sun Setting On The AG's Public Access Office?

Angela Caputo — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:39:59 -0700

During Lisa Madigan's campaign to become Illinois' attorney general, people took note when she pledged to throw back the shades and shed light on the inner-workings of state, local, and county government. Her plan was simple: to hire a public access counselor who would help average citizens and those elected officials with an independent streak understand state laws and, when needed, ride public bodies until they disclosed credit card statements, closed session minutes, cell phone records, and the like.

Dropping the hammer on Illinois public officials who have earned a reputation for doing their bidding behind closed doors -- from single-school districts all the way up to the governor's office -- may have come at a cost, Madigan's deputy chief of staff Cara Smith said. The governor decided to trim AG's budget by more than any other state agency this year. "Do I think this is a coincidence that our budget was cut by 25 percent? Absolutely not," Smith added.

And the public access office has become a casualty of the cuts.

Last spring, Public Access Counselor Terry Mutchler called it quits, after landing a job to head up Pennsylvania's new open records office. With the attorney general's budget gutted, a hiring freeze has been imposed, which has left her position vacant for nearly four months.

Mutchler made a name for herself, and the office, by enforcing a simple principle: no one is above the state's public access laws. Even Blagojevich became a target, as she fired off letters and blasted him in the press for refusing to turn over records of federal subpoenas requested by the Better Government Association (BGA).

Southtown Star columnist Phil Kadner, who formerly chaired public access issues for the Chicago chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists, described why this type of counsel matters to the people of Illinois in a March 15, 2006 column:

[F]or the first time in state history, the average citizen has access to a lawyer. In years past, attorneys for school boards or municipalities would often issue a terse letter refusing taxpayers access to a government document and the citizen would be unable to respond without going to court.

Obviously, most folks don't have the time or money to fight government attorneys.

Government officials knew that. [...]

Whenever there were efforts to tighten loopholes in the Freedom of Information Act or the Open Meetings Act in years past, state legislators would respond that only the news media was interested in this sort of thing.

Those of us who were fielding phone calls from concerned citizens and elected officials knew better, but without official documentation the lawmakers refused to pay attention.

Even in the absence of a public access counselor, Madigan spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler maintains that all public access inquiries have been addressed "seamlessly." Two assistant attorneys are currently carrying out the work. And the office was spared in a round of 19 layoffs last week. "Everybody who needs help or wants help is getting it," Ziegler added.

Open government advocates like Kadner say that's just not so. "There's no one there who specializes in this kind of law," he said. "There are a lot of subtleties involved."

Keeping up with more than 1,300 open meetings and Freedom of Information Act cases each year -- mostly on behalf of everyday folks, as Mutchler reported in 2007 -- will no doubt be a challenge. But in the current climate of dysfunction in Springfield, BGA chief investigator Dan Sprehe said most open-government advocates are just grateful for whatever resources the office can provide.

"What becomes of the bureau, we'll wait and see," Sprehe said.

Image of Chicago's Thompson Center used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user liz noise.

Schakowsky, Madigan Condemn Alleged Push-Poll In 17th District

Josh Kalven — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:10:19 -0700

Last week, Democratic state representative candidate Daniel Biss' campaign began fielding calls from 17th District women reporting that they had received a "push poll" intended to mislead them about his position on reproductive choice. According to Biss campaign manager Julie Sweet, the voice on the other end first asked the voters receiving the call if they were pro-choice. If they answered yes, the caller would then ask if they knew that incumbent GOP Rep. Beth Coulson is the "only pro-choice candidate" in the race. Sweet said the campaign initially received complaints from voters in Wilmette, but have since heard similar accounts from women in Northbrook and Skokie. The office reported receiving about two to three complaints per night, mostly from female voters over the age of 40.

Today, the group Citizens for Choice and Integrity bought an ad in the Pioneer Press and several other Sun-Times News Group publications in the 17th District. It features a letter signed by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and 38 other local women objecting to these tactics. An excerpt:

As longtime active supporters of reproductive freedom, we are gratified that both candidates for the Illinois State Legislature in the 17th District -- the Republican incumbent as well as Democratic challenger Daniel Biss -- are staunchly pro-choice. [...]

We are therefore dismayed that some pro-choice advocacy groups have not only endorsed the 17th District's Republican incumbent, but are already working hard to defeat pro-choice Democrat Daniel Biss. An unidentified group or individual has even gone so far as to pay for a push poll, a false and misleading survey, that claims he is not pro-choice. We are surprised the Republican incumbent Elizabeth Coulson would allow herself to benefit from such tactics.

We strongly urge the Republican incumbent and her supporters to take the same high road that Mr. Biss has taken in his campaign and immediately put an end to the false statements. It takes more than simply denying responsibility. The Republican incumbent should take action to prevent these kinds of false and misleading tactics used by her supporters, now and in the future, and publicly acknowledge Daniel Biss's commitment to reproductive freedom.

Read the whole thing here.

Illinois, Missouri At Odds Over Ozone Regualtions

Mose Buchele — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:49:56 -0700

In the last year, the state of Illinois has aggressively pushed for stricter standards against air pollution at the national level. That push has now put us at odds with one of our neighbors across the Mississippi. Today the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports how Missouri's Department of National Resources (DNR) is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to weaken ozone regulations. Meanwhile, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing to have those regulations strengthened.

Here's the background: in March, the EPA lowered the standard of acceptable ozone pollution to 0.075 parts-per-million from 0.084 parts-per-million. The problem with the new limit is that the EPA's own scientists found it still allowed for a dangerous level of pollution. In response, Madigan -- along with the AGs of New York, California, Oregon, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania -- signed a petition demanding that the regulations fall in line with the scientists' recommendations:

"It is simply unacceptable for EPA to ignore its own science advisory committee and set the new ozone standard at a level that will make breathing more difficult for children, seniors, people who work outdoors and those who already suffer from chronic lung disease," [Madigan] said.

Fearing that the new rules may hurt local industries, the Missouri DNR took the opposite position, joining the state of Mississippi in suing the EPA to bring the ozone limit back to pre-March standards.

Only time will tell whether either lawsuit will succeed, but with over a dozen other states backing her petition, Madigan certainly has the numbers on her side. Another good sign for the Illinois-backed suit? Missouri's own Attorney General Jay Nixon does not support his state's legal challenge. The DNR asked him to back the suit but he refused, saying that "the new [EPA] standard is an effort to protect public health" and pointing out that the agency had failed to provide any factual basis for its suit.