actionnow.org

Action Now held a press conference and sit-in on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 outside of Cook County President Todd Stroger's office to demand that he allocate funding in the 2010 budget for foreclosure outreach and mediation in the Cook County Courts. Although Cook County’s numbers of foreclosures are twice as high as in the five collar counties combined, President Stroger has yet to assign any funding to foreclosure prevention efforts. 

25,561 of the 27,653 foreclosure judgments in 2008 were default judgments because the borrower did not show up in court. There is no money set aside to help low-income and middle class Americans navigate the complicated foreclosure process in the Cook County Courts. As many as 86% of foreclosure victims in hard-hit areas of America didn't have legal counsel last year, according to the Brennan Center at the  NYU School of Law, which released a report earlier this month.

With 53,000 foreclosures filings predicted for 2009 in Cook County, prevention measures are needed so that homeowners have access to housing counselors, legal aid and court mediation with their lender. Foreclosure filing fees are $300, which means that foreclosures alone have generated an extra 15 million dollars for Cook County. This money should be used to fund foreclosure outreach and court mediation.

“Todd Stroger is out of touch with the people of Cook County. We elected him to represent us and he has betrayed that trust. Foreclosures are clearly not a priority for him, even though they are destroying our communities! People don’t know how to save their homes because there are very few resources open to them. That’s why we need funding for foreclosure outreach and court mediation. We need to be given a chance,” said Action Now member Toni Richards.

For press coverage of the sit-in and press conference, please click below:

Clips of the sit-in and Action Now member Toni Richards quoted in, "Protesters Seek Foreclosure Help From Todd Stroger" on WGN

  Clip of Action Now member Michelle Young and quotes from member Marsha Godard in, "Activists Call On Stroger To 'Give People A Fighting Chance" from Progress Illinois

Quotes by Action Now members Toni Richards, Gloria Warner and Latonya Somerville in "Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Demand County Assistance" from Medill

Court mediation has been effective in preventing foreclosures in other areas of the United States. The state law in Maine requires that lenders who want to file foreclosures have to participate in mediation. In Maryland, Governor Martin O'Malley has introduced a bill to make mediation mandatory, requiring mortgage companies to participate in renegotiations of loans before pursuing foreclosure. The Philadelphia Foreclosure Diversion Program, a pre-foreclosure mediation process, has been shown to be 70% effective in preventing foreclosures.

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