Progress Illinois

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.
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A bill in Springfield could have a big impact on the way Chicago deals with vacant homes. State. Rep. Karen Yarbrough's Housing Committee is scheduled to take up legislation this morning has its roots in a Chicago ordinance 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell first drafted last summer. HB 1109, as we first noted a couple of weeks ago, would give muncipalities in Illinois more tools to deal with the vacant homes, many of them in the foreclosure process and many of them blighted, that destabilize neighborhoods. The bill would authorize cities to create rules for the maintenance of vacant properties, impose registration fees on owners of empty buildings, and assess fines for those who fail to comply.

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Advocacy groups are calling on members of Congress to think twice before pulling the plug on what could be a crucial tool to combat foreclosures. Just about everyone agrees the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has been an epic failure. But the Chicago metro area’s Regional Home Ownership Preservation Initiative (HOPI) says that's a reason to make it better not to eliminate it.

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As usual, there's a lot to pick through in the Woodstock Institute's latest analysis (PDF) of home foreclosure activity in greater Chicagoland. One trend that stuck out during a review of the new data: there was a "dramatic" increase of more than 25 percent in completed foreclosure auctions in the six-county Chicago region between 2009 and last year, to 30,981 properties. More than 95 percent of these structures are real estate owned and likely vacant, according to Woodstock. Suburban Cook County saw substantial increases in completed auctions. In Chicago that number jumped by 19.9 percent between '09 and '10.

As Progress Illinois documented on one West Side block, such properties pose safety and health hazards to neighbors. They drive down property values, damaging household wealth. Some foreclosed-home servicers are just walking away from properties they've taken into foreclosure proceedings, leaving them to decay.

While Carol Moseley Braun called for a foreclosure moratorium, rehabbing foreclosed properties, and holding banks accountable for the condition of empty homes they now own earlier this week and Miguel del Valle has talked about the issue, there hasn't been much discussion about foreclosures during Chicago's mayoral campaign.

Owners of dangerous vacant buildings in Chicago could face up to six months in jail for failing to properly maintain their properties, according to an ordinance that advanced out of the City Council's buildings committee yesterday and now heads to the full council.

The proposed new penalties come in the wake of the December 22 fire at a decrepit, vacant structure 1744 E. 75th Street; two Chicago firefighters perished battling that blaze and 17 more were injured. Sponsored by Ald. James Balcer (11th Ward), the bill begs the possibility of jail time should a vacant building be found in violation of the current minimum standards for securing them; if it has fire, electrical, or building code violations making them imminently dangerous; or if the building's condition causes severe injury or the death of anyone.

Vacant buildings stress many Chicago neighborhoods, resulting in blight and leaving blocks less secure. The full extent of the vacant problem isn't quite clear though it is certain the foreclosure crisis has exacerbated the issue. Owners of empty buildings are required by city code to register them with the city, in addition to securing and maintaining the building. But the Woodstock Institute's recent report about "red flag properties" found 2,558 lender-owned single family homes in Chicago that are likely empty but not registered with the city. "These homes," Woodstock wrote, "are likely not secured and maintained to the standards required by the City of Chicago and may be in an advanced state of disrepair."