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Foreclosure
Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
6:27pm
Mon Oct 29, 2012

City Touts Building Demolitions In Crime Prevention, But Is There A Connection?

Today, the city of Chicago demolished its “200th dangerous building” since July 12, according to the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The mayor stated in a press release that demolitions are “preventing criminal activity in our neighborhoods.”

Is this true? “We’ve been knocking down houses since the 1930’s and it’s not clear if this has a significant effect on crime rates,” says Bradford Hunt, a sociology professor at Roosevelt University who studies Chicago housing issues.

Also in question: How does the city determine what properties see the wrecking ball? Read more »

PI Original
by Steven Ross Johnson
3:52pm
Thu Jun 21, 2012
2 comments

Housing Market Woes Continue, Legislators Hold Keys To Possible Solutions

Housing

Continued stagnation within the U.S housing market has been cited as one of the key factors contributing to a still slow economic recovery. Meanwhile, forecasts for the remainder of the year indicate a rise in foreclosures and sluggish home sales remain. We take a look at some of the causes of the housing market's ongoing problems and discuss a few possible solutions.

PI Original
by Matthew Blake
5:45pm
Wed Jun 20, 2012
1 comment

Cook County Commissioner Lays Out Plan For Vacant Properties

Housing

Government has tried, with limited success, to address each new wave of the foreclosure crisis. In Chicago and Cook County, the focus is increasingly on the surging number of properties vacated because of foreclosure. Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer (D-Chicago) proposed in May an ambitious way to deal with the problem.

PI Original
by
4:20pm
Wed Jun 15, 2011
1 comment

How Big Banks Displace Families Who Rent

Housing

Banks taking over foreclosed properties are considered the new homeowners, but what happens when the building is home to dozens of families who rent? A local neighborhood group says that should make the banks the landlords too -- at least temporarily.

Quick Hit
by Micah Maidenberg
10:11am
Thu Apr 7, 2011

Dowell's Vacant Building Bill In Springfield's Hands (UPDATED)

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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Quick Hit
by
10:17am
Wed Mar 30, 2011

Groups To Lawmakers: Revise, Don't Eliminate HAMP

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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