COOK COUNTY IL SHERIFF TO SUSPEND FORECLOSURE EVICTIONS!
SHERIFF TOM DART COULD RISK FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT IF HE DEFIES COURT ORDERS TO EVICT!
Each month, since the beginning of 2008, roughly 2,000 people get served with an eviction notice here in Cook County IL - the county that includes the City of Chicago. Of those, an estimated 500 are evicted as a result of a bank foreclosure. Roughly one-third of foreclosure evictions involve rental tenants, many of whom were not notified about their landlord's default, and the impending eviction process.
In an act of what Dart considers "justice," the Cook County Sheriff said today his office will stop serving eviction notices to homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, as well as rental tenants not aware the building has been foreclosed upon, and transfered to the bank.
He added that hundreds of Cook County residents face eviction each month despite paying rent, if the owners of the property collect rent payments but fail to pay their mortgage. According to Dart, "The people we're interacting with are, many times, oblivious to the financial straits their landlord might be in. They are the innocent victims here, and they are the ones all of us must step up for and find some way to protect."
Dart requested that banks send representatives to rental properties notifying tenants of foreclosure proceedings a minimum of 120 days in advance of a notice of eviction. Illinois Law now requires the lenders to only notify the current property owner, not their tenants.
The Sheriff quoted statistics indicating foreclosures have skyrocketed since 2006. This year, he estimates more than 43,000 foreclosures will be filed in Chicago and Cook County, up 127% from two years ago.
Sheriff Dart will continue enforcing non-foreclosure-related evictions - those for non-payment of rent, or violation of lease rules.
Should the Sheriff's officers and staff fail to carry out court-ordered evictions, he could be held for contempt of court, for failing to violate a court-ordered eviction.
See Azam Ahmed's Breaking News Story in today's Chicago Tribune for more info.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
