Chicago's Cook County Sheriff won't evict in foreclosures

[PeaceNikki]

Source: AP

CHICAGO (AP) — The sheriff here said Wednesday that he's ordering his deputies to stop evicting people from foreclosed properties because many people his office has helped throw out on the street are renters who did nothing wrong.

"We will no longer be a party to something that's so unjust," a visibly angry Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference.

"We have to be sure that when we are doing this — and we are destroying some people's lives — we better be darned sure we're talking about the right people," Dart said.

Dart said he believes he's the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop participating in foreclosure evictions, and the publisher of a national foreclosure database said he's probably right.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gWQSAw_s2aqqnJS5Ib0-PbD24H5gD93MJAO00

---

Interesting. This includes the city of Chicago.

[YOY]

1. Gotta love a cop who knows he's one of us and has a sense of justice

n/t

[PeaceNikki]

3. It's quite a bold move

Dart said the number of foreclosure evictions in Cook County could more than double from the 2006 tally of 1,771. This year the county is on pace to see 4,500 such evictions, he said.

:(

[Donnachaidh]

2. They should be going after the landlords, or better yet

Find some way to seize the property, and give the renters a chance to purchase the property.

How many poor people are getting kicked to the curb, because someone decided to become a real estate flipper?

[pengillian101]

21. Exactly!

How many poor people are getting kicked to the curb, because someone decided to become a real estate flipper?

Exactly!

There are many books and TV commercials and even TV series on HGTV.

TV shows drilling the message - "Flip this house" - get rich quick scheme. Bah!

[ronnie624]

88. I used to love HGTV.

Now it's all about making money in real estate, the very thing that caused the "housing bubble" to begin with.

[PeaceNikki]

4. More here:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=241292

... stopping all mortgage foreclosure evictions until lenders can prove renters have been notified.

Dart conceded the action could leave him open to contempt of court for not carrying out eviction orders, but said, "We are no longer going to be party to something that is so unjust."

The suspension will apply only to houses, condominiums and other properties in foreclosure. Evictions for lease violations by tenants who have not paid their rent will continue.

Dart is taking the action until banks and other mortgage holders submit affidavits in court showing whoever is living in the home has been given the proper 120 day notice to get out.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

60. I know somebody who got that treatment in LV

They were renting, the landlord was a con who had stopped making the mortgage payments on his units months earlier, all the while continuing to collect rent, took the money and ran. Some of the tenants were even scammed out of more money, the guy told them he was about to close on another building and he would give them 25% off on their rent if they paid up to the end of the year.

[doc03]

5. That's how Rep. Jim Traficant became a

folk hero in Ohio.

[jrockford]

6. Well, Beam Me Up!

[bluesmail]

7. I hope it backfires Big Time. (Wall Street Bailout)

Tee hee heeee.

[Kaleko]

8. Bravo. Time to take a stand. Civil disobedience has its rewards.

[liberal N proud]

9. The revolution starts like this

The little guy standing up to the monster corporate hogs.

It's a wonderful life

[POAS]

10. Thank You Addie Polk, you opened some eyes. n/t

[pberq]

11. That's the kind of story we need to hear! nt

[downindixie]

12. You might see the same thing happen

if bush tries to put us under martial law!

[elleng]

13. No MIGHT about it,

downin!

[dana_b]

14. there is hope - some people don't blindly "do as they're told"

good for the Sherriff and Cook County!

[pipoman]

15. Having served many, many forclosures

over the years, the law in my state has always required proper service of any tenants in the property including children of the respondent over the age of 18. The foreclosure and all subsequent notices and orders are served on the respondent and several "John/Jane Doe" copies are to be served on other interested parties. The process server records the names of tenants and others, then submits a return of service affidavit on each person.

The result of this Sheriff's statement, in most jurisdictions, would be for a simple rewording of the eviction orders by the lawyers for the finance company. The wording would likely name the Sheriff, ordering him to assist in the eviction. The papers would then be served by a private process server who would then call 911 at the residence if the respondent/tenants refused to vacate. If at this point the sheriff refused to act on the order, the sheriff would soon be standing before the administrative judge in the jurisdiction explaining why he shouldn't be subject to a contempt citation. Sheriffs aren't lawyers, and even if they are, they are not charged with determining legality of court orders beyond verifying they are not forgeries.

Is the sheriff up for re-election this cycle? This sounds like a publicity stunt with no teeth.

Another little known practice/scheme/legal scam is for a person to check court filings making copies of foreclosure actions. The person then does a records search to determine how long he mortgage has been in effect. Every state I am aware of allows respondents in foreclosures a right of redemption with the time based on the length of time the mortgage has been in effect. The time is usually 6 months to 1 year after the foreclosure has been affirmed. This means that the respondent and/or tenants can not be evicted until the redemption period is over. The person then goes to the respondent and offers to buy the redemption in return for immediately vacating the property. If the respondent agrees, and signs the contract, the person places an ad and rents the property out. The person usually doesn't tell the tenant about the pending foreclosure/eviction. The person then collects rent on the property throughout the redemption period which is several times the amount paid for the redemption rights. The person just quits collecting the rent on the last month of the redemption and the tenants are ultimately evicted.

[PeaceNikki]

23. He's not up for re-election until 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dart

Tom Dart is a former Member of the Illinois House of Representatives and is currently the Sheriff of Cook County.

Dart won the Democratic primary on March 21, 2006 defeating Sylvester Baker and Richard Remus in a landslide victory. Later that year, he won the general election and officially replaced Michael F. Sheahan as Cook County Sheriff.

Tom Dart served as State Representative of the 28th district from 1993 to 2002. In 2002 Dart was the Democratic nominee for Illinois State Treasurer but lost to incumbent Republican Judy Baar Topinka.

[truedelphi]

55. You say:

The person just quits collecting the rent on the last month of the redemption and the tenants are ultimately evicted.

But those tenants (they are the new ones, right?) They have 120 days from the time that they are served, or not? Pls explain.

[pipoman]

64. Here the notice is based on length of residence

and whether or not the tenant has a lease. The person who is buying the redemption usually requires a lease which expires well before the redemption is up, if they require a lease at all. If there is no lease 14 days notice is all that is required. When the 2 week notice is served, this is often the first the tenant is aware of the looming eviction. Most of these redemption buyers are very careful to act within the law including return of deposits or conveniently forgetting to collect the deposit in the first place. They don't care the condition of the property, nor do they perform maintenance for the tenants. The state has tried to legislate this loophole away to no avail. It always comes down to the fact that the respondent has a legal right of redemption. That legal right carries with it a value. To not allow the respondent to sell that asset would violate the respondent's rights. So it goes...

[truedelphi]

67. Ew, how yucky.

And of coure I imagine this practice fares far better (for the perps) in low income neighborhoods where people don't have much recourse to lawyers.

[Phred42]

16. dupe

[WriteDown]

17. So basically you can use your house as an ATM....

with zero consequence. I'm am so getting a boat tomorrow. And maybe a couple of 4wheelers. :sarcasm:

[PeaceNikki]

19. Did you READ the article and the subsequent posts in this thread?

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=241292

... stopping all mortgage foreclosure evictions until lenders can prove renters have been notified.

Dart conceded the action could leave him open to contempt of court for not carrying out eviction orders, but said, "We are no longer going to be party to something that is so unjust."

The suspension will apply only to houses, condominiums and other properties in foreclosure. Evictions for lease violations by tenants who have not paid their rent will continue.

Dart is taking the action until banks and other mortgage holders submit affidavits in court showing whoever is living in the home has been given the proper 120 day notice to get out.

[WriteDown]

20. Yes, did....

So landlords keep collecting rent. What's hard to understand?

[PeaceNikki]

24. Tom Dart is trying to stop the tenants from consequences of the landlord/owner's default.

In that they are requiring 120 notification which is not happening.

[WriteDown]

25. You sure about that?

That's a good line, but all I see is the rich getting richer and being protected from losing their "investment" properties (aka slums).

[PeaceNikki]

26. Read the articles.

The sheriff's suspension is expected temporarily to save 400 to 500 people from eviction a month. Those tenants will still be subject to eviction after 120 days' notice, but Dart said the delay will give them crucial time to work out living arrangements so they are not suddenly thrown out on the street.

He cited "gut-wrenching" cases in which working single mothers came home to find their children and possessions in the street, where their meager belongings often get stolen.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=241292

Illinois law requires that renters be notified that their residence is in foreclosure and they will be evicted in 120 days, but Dart indicated that the law has been routinely ignored.

He talked about tenants who dutifully pay their rent, then leave one morning for work only to have authorities evict them and put their belongings on the curb while they are gone.

By the time they get home, "The meager possessions they have are gone," he said. "This is happening too often."
In many cases, he said, tenants aren't even aware that their homes have fallen into foreclosure.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gWQSAw_s2aqqnJS5Ib0-PbD24H5gD93MJAO00

[joeybee12]

28. Leave for work and are convicted? Doesn't Chicago give at least

24 hours notice like most places?

[PeaceNikki]

29. A) I think you mean EVICTED

and B) you are not following the story very well, are you?

He is saying that the property owner is given full due process in foreclosure but the tenant is not aware it's in default. The slimy owners aren't notifying the PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE and those are the ones they are asked to evict. And the sheriff is refusing to participate in those anymore unless and until they are provided proof that the residents are notified.

[joeybee12]

34. Ok, as far as I know, the sherrif's department posts the eviction notice...

...on the property...most cities require that by law...that was my point...sorry for the convicted, but there was no need for your smart-ass comment about me not following the story...I am following the story, and I think this sherrif is being a little overly dramatic about this comment about leaving for work and coming home homeless...ain't gonna happen. Granted, even 24 hours wouldn't give someone much time to figure out what was going on, so it's good he stopped doing it, but he's still a drama queen.

[PeaceNikki]

41. Drama queen? For standing up for these people?

And to say he's "overly dramatic about this comment about leaving for work and coming home homeless...ain't gonna happen" shows your ignorance.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PeaceNikki]

46. You're a lil ray of sunshine, that's what you are!

[PeaceNikki]

50. Here you go, sparky

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/govt/story.aspx?id=98129


"In most cases , the bank hasn't made any effort to see if there are tenants in buildings," said Andrea Button, the Legal Assistance Foundation lawyer. "The sheriff just shows up."

In the worst cases, tenants are rendered homeless within minutes. Some have even come home to find the locks have been changed. Their keys no longer work, and their furniture and clothes and sometimes even their credit cards are locked inside.

According to Steve Patterson, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, the department is inundated with eviction orders, averaging 125 per day, and deputies don’t have the time or manpower to find out who they are evicting.

[PeaceNikki]

61. And here's an NPR story about it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94900658

I guess everyone is being overly dramatic and it never happens. :eyes:

[fudge stripe cookays]

77. Idiots?

Hardly.

For applauding someone who doesn't want people homeless and out on the street?

What the fuck are you doing here, exactly? Have you looked up the words liberal and progressive in a dictionary lately?

:eyes:

[pipoman]

54. After all of the various

filings, hearings and orders have been exhausted, no. Most places don't have 24 hours notice at all. Notice is much longer. Once the eviction is ordered it it immediate upon service of the resident in most places. Way over 1/2 the time when I have arrived at a residence with eviction orders the residence is vacant because the resident knew it was coming and time was up.

[pipoman]

32. This sounds to me like a failure in his own department

as every eviction I have ever served included several alias documents for service on tenants. Many civil action lawyers here have quit using local sheriff to serve their papers in favor of private process servers because of notorious lack of due diligence, incompetence and simple ignorance/lack of training. If the alias papers are not being properly served and affidavits of service not properly filed whose fault is that? If it is a private process server who does this he/she can be sued civilly for malpractice and the finance company can collect compensation for their losses. Most jurisdictions require private process servers to carry errors and omissions insurance for this very reason. Law enforcement agencies charged with serving civil papers don't allow for the same recourse by the finance company. Most private process servers I know work very closely with their lawyer clients to be sure the papers are properly served and the returns are properly filed...sheriffs, not so much. Orders denied due to improper service can be extremely costly to lawyers and their clients. Civil courts in these large cities are often so backed up it can take months to get back on the docket after one of these failures.

[PeaceNikki]

33. I'm not sure who he means is "routinely ignoring the law".

[PeaceNikki]

38. OK, more here...

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=100163

Dart said his deputies were doing the heavy lifting for banks. Banks need to find out who actually lives at a foreclosed property, he said. When the department informed banks that people other than the mortgage holder were at a foreclosed property, days later, Dart said, his office would get an eviction order with those new names added.

“Do due diligence, bank: Is it in fact a single-family home and that’s the person that’s named? Then we go right ahead with it.” Dart said. “All too often this person has rented it out to somebody. The court is completely unaware of it. The person in that house has paid their rent for the past two years.”

Some advocates for renters said that at least part of the impetus for Dart’s move came after the Albany Park Neighborhood Council came to Dart’s office to lobby for renters who didn’t know their landlords were in foreclosure.

Diane Limas, of the council, told reporters at the press conference that her organization worked with several tenants whose landlord fled the country with $2 million in mortgage loans.

Though the tenants had paid rent dutifully, Limas said, they discovered they were being evicted.

“Imagine these tenants opening the door and seeing four sheriff’s people there telling them they need to get out,” she said. “There were two small children in that apartment, elderly grandparent. They didn’t understand the language too well; a lot of the people that live in this building were immigrants.”

Dart did not specify a time limit for the moratorium. Once banks provide an affidavit, occupants will have 120 days before the eviction is carried out. The hope is that people will have the time to find somewhere else to live.

[pipoman]

51. I would like to hear from an IL lawyer on this

When the department informed banks that people other than the mortgage holder were at a foreclosed property, days later, Dart said, his office would get an eviction order with those new names added.

This indicates that previous documents in the foreclosure were improperly served. If the action is at the eviction stage of the foreclosure before anyone is aware that the property isn't owner occupied, someone didn't get proper service (at least in my state) on previous papers. It is, I suppose, possible that the civil courts in Cook county are so overwhelmed (and have been since before this crisis) that administrative failures have been overlooked in favor of clearing the docket. This would only happen if the foreclosure went uncontested though, I would think, as the council for the respondent would raise these issues in the contest long before it reached the eviction stage.

Diane Limas, of the council, told reporters at the press conference that her organization worked with several tenants whose landlord fled the country with $2 million in mortgage loans.

This sounds like a criminal act to me. I wonder how diligently these scam artists are being prosecuted. If this is a wide spread problem, it is unbelievable that all of the scammers are fleeing the country. Further I am curious who the tenants have been paying rent to? A building superintendent?

“Imagine these tenants opening the door and seeing four sheriff’s people there telling them they need to get out,” she said. “There were two small children in that apartment, elderly grandparent. They didn’t understand the language too well; a lot of the people that live in this building were immigrants.”

This indicates an apartment building. I find it unbelievable that tenants were not informed. Either they were noticed and are denying it or a process server's tit should be in the ringer.

Dart did not specify a time limit for the moratorium. Once banks provide an affidavit, occupants will have 120 days before the eviction is carried out. The hope is that people will have the time to find somewhere else to live.

In my state there is a time limit based on how long the tenant has been in the residence. What if the landlord rents the apartment 2 weeks before the eviction comes down (after months or years of legal action)? Should the tenant still get 120 days to vacate? If so this would be a revolving door and the eviction could never be completed.

Interesting thread to a person who has spent as much time in this area as I have.

[PeaceNikki]

52. Read this

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/govt/story.aspx?id=98129#continue

[pipoman]

62. It looks like it is time for review of

civil procedure in IL including possible criminal action against landlords who don't give proper notice of foreclosure. This appears to be a problem with no easy answers. It is good to hear that banks are paying people to vacate. Too bad landlords aren't required to do the same.

[canetoad]

76. How it would work here in Oz

Is that the bank, mortgage lender, whatever, becomes the new owner of the house on the instance of foreclosure.

That would IN NO WAY negate the rights of the tenant ie. sufficient notice etc. The new owner would need to initiate eviction proceedings according to the state law.

[trickyguy]

18. That's the Chicago I know and love. With some great people in charge.

[lonestarnot]

22. Tom Dart will you consider replacing Sheriff Joepinkunderware?

:loveya: No... well then Dan Saban needs to learn from you.

[Daemonaquila]

27. Woot!

It's about time folks start standing up for what's right, not just kowtowing to the orders of the powers-that-be. Very gutsy. I hope others follow his lead.

[lovuian]

30. Revolution continues on step by step

this man is an American Hero

[Odin2005]

31. It's things like this that remind me why I don't like cop-bashing.

What a good guy!

[Incitatus]

39. It's just too bad stories like this are few and far between compared to police abuse stories.

[Incitatus]

35. The bank should take posession and just let the renters pay them.

With all these foreclosures and people being evicted. Why isn't something like this being done? It's not like the houses have any good chance of selling. They can just make arrangements for the current residents to stay and rent while the bank tries to sell the house. This would be a little help to their serious liquidity problem.

[joeybee12]

42. You would think the bank would try to negotiate with the renter...

...and you would assume someone from the bank has been out to the property and seen that there's a renter there. You would think.

[whistle]

36. Good for the Cook County Sheriff, he has a heart

[Lint Head]

37. How can we contact this man and thank him for standing up for fairness

and true justice?:dem:

[GinaMaria]

58. Contact info

web site: http://www.cookcountysheriff.org/

Cook County Sheriff’s Office
50 W. Washington
Chicago, Illinois 60602
[phone]
[e-mail]

I may drop off a thank you note tomorrow. This is wonderful. Thanks to the Cook County Sheriff's Office for your doing your part to serve and protect people.

[canetoad]

93. I have just sent him a note

and was about to post his email here, but you have beaten me to it.

We need to send our support to champions of social justice.

[MullenBank]

40. He should do his job.

Do you like activist judges? Sure- when it goes YOUR way.
This guy is taking the law and twisting it-- maybe the next sheriff will twist it some way that you don't agree with. Then ya'll cry foul. You pay public servants to follow rules not make them up as they see fit. If he won't do his job because his heart bleeds then he should be a stand up guy and resign. Anything less is cowardly.

[PeaceNikki]

43. Wow. God forbid we have those damn "bleeding heart liberals" on the job.

:eyes:

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=100163

Dart said his deputies were doing the heavy lifting for banks. Banks need to find out who actually lives at a foreclosed property, he said. When the department informed banks that people other than the mortgage holder were at a foreclosed property, days later, Dart said, his office would get an eviction order with those new names added.

“Do due diligence, bank: Is it in fact a single-family home and that’s the person that’s named? Then we go right ahead with it.” Dart said. “All too often this person has rented it out to somebody. The court is completely unaware of it. The person in that house has paid their rent for the past two years.”

Some advocates for renters said that at least part of the impetus for Dart’s move came after the Albany Park Neighborhood Council came to Dart’s office to lobby for renters who didn’t know their landlords were in foreclosure.

Diane Limas, of the council, told reporters at the press conference that her organization worked with several tenants whose landlord fled the country with $2 million in mortgage loans.

Though the tenants had paid rent dutifully, Limas said, they discovered they were being evicted.

“Imagine these tenants opening the door and seeing four sheriff’s people there telling them they need to get out,” she said. “There were two small children in that apartment, elderly grandparent. They didn’t understand the language too well; a lot of the people that live in this building were immigrants.”

Dart did not specify a time limit for the moratorium. Once banks provide an affidavit, occupants will have 120 days before the eviction is carried out. The hope is that people will have the time to find somewhere else to live.

[PeaceNikki]

47. And furthermore

YOU may want to have our police force who is there to serve and protect serving as no more than drones for the banks and doing their bidding when they BYPASS the laws, leaving families homeless and protecting the banks, but I don't. Not standing up for what's right is what's cowardly. We pay the public servants to protect us, not let banks and thieving landlords render us homeless on a dime without proper notification.

[truedelphi]

57. And can I add, that as of last week, the hard working

Tenants who would be finding themselves thrown out on the street are partial owners of
at least one of the biggest financial firms, AIG, on this fair planet. With its one trillion bucks in assets.

So those ain't no slobbery tenants. Those folks are now financial instituion share holders!

Just like you and me.

[Richard Steele]

48. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about, and thus appear foolish.

You should try reading the article before getting high-handed
with folks discussing it.

[pipoman]

65. The sheriff has

acknowledged he may be subject to contempt of court. He is making a statement from the battlefield trying to get legislative action. He will ultimately do his job or go to jail. If his position results in proper filings and procedure or in new legislation to cure the problem his goal will be achieved IMHO. This will be a short standoff.

[Doremus]

66. "Activist Judges"? "Heart Bleeds"?

I think you took a wrong turn and landed at DEMOCRATIC Underground.

[philosophie_en_rose]

72. He is following the law.

The renters are entitled to notice. The Sheriff wants proof that the tenants received notice prior to enforcing an order that doesn't deprive tenants of that right. Banks can still seize the title, but they need to comply with landlord-tenant law when taking possession. If the banks don't do that, then the sheriff is wasting resources enforcing improper orders.

As to your "activist judges" comment, you should realize that a lot of discretion is built into the legal system.

[lovuian]

85. He is asking to see the mortgage and noone has produced it

alot of these mortgages were bundled and sold over and over again and Noone knows who owns what

he's right until he sees the paper with the mortgage and who has it in their hand then lets talk
but he hasn't seen it yet

He's doing his job protecting Americans from crooks and lets face it the Banks has a bunch of them

[conflictgirl]

94. *checks* Am I still on Democratic Underground?

Are you aware that's where you posted this? Or did you get lost on your way to the Fox News forums?

[LostinVA]

95. I think you took a wrong turn on the internets

:eyes:

[trthnd4jstc]

45. I need to remember that there are good, noble, and honerable policeman.

Sometimes the police are good, and the laws are unjust. Some men live by honor, in a dishonerable world. Thank G-d for this Man! And Thanks for the Post!

[BlueKansan]

49. Are you sure this is Cook County ILLINOIS?

Wow, an actual human heart working for Cook County government -- go figure. All we did was hire a roofer who didn't get a permit, and the county put us through six months of hell that cost us over a thousand dollars. And even after we did exactly what we were ordered to do, they STILL turned our case over to the State's Attorney's office for prosecution. Fortunately, the people working for the State of Illinois were a lot more understanding and dropped the case.

I miss Chicago, but I say good riddance to Cook County.

[truedelphi]

56. The Tribune recently had some letters to the editor

That told exactly the type of tale you are relating.

[GinaMaria]

53. awesome

Makes me proud to live here

[Riverman]

59. Phila Sherrif Been Not Evicting people from forclosed homes

since earlier this year - I read in the Inquirer when I was there.

[rpannier]

63. The part I agree with is...

"You are talking about a lot of people in rental situations living paycheck to paycheck," he said. "To think they are sitting on a pool of money for an up-front deposit, security deposit, is foolishness."

Quite often they also have last months deposit as well.

[orleans]

68. k&r n/t

[jennied]

69. Wow, that's awesome!

[AllyCat]

70. Good for him! A humanitarian and wanting to do the right thing

I hope others follow suit.

[philosophie_en_rose]

71. Renters are entitled to notice before being evicted.

The renters have rights independent of the owner. If the bank seizes the property and wants the renters out, they need to follow whatever process is due in that state.

Especially if the Sheriff knows that the eviction orders conflict with the procedures required to evict the renters, then he has a legitimate concern. He should consult the county attorney's office for a formal opinion, but it seems obvious that the banks could provide notice to the occupants at the same time it's taking action against the owners.

[Waiting For Everyman]

73. Foreclosing banks won't work with renters even when they know and call about it.

Instead of having the property occupied until a buyer is found, they go ahead and evict anyway to leave it sit empty indefinitely. They simply do not care.

They won't work with owners OR renters. I know b/c I worked for Wells Fargo, the biggest mortgage servicer in the country. Banks have been very uncaring about the value of the property declining, and also about their own cash flow stopping. The reason is, they make a lot in fees in the foreclosure PROCESS - in direct fees and also in writeoffs, and so do the investors as well as the servicer. It's all stuff unknown to the public, buried within the contracts between servicer and investors, but they WANT foreclosures, and are pushing hard for them.

Then, it goes far enough until we get this collapse of the swaps too, and the government bails them out for THAT.

It's very clear that nobody matters except these banks - either in federal law or state or local law. They get their way no matter who they harm. Nobody else has any property rights but them b/c their attorneys have written our laws, all to benefit themselves whether they're right or wrong. That is what the sheriffs are enforcing - the banks' laws that their lobbyists had customized just for them.

It ALL need changing. That is, if we'd like to have a middle class or our economy survive. We need a borrowers' bill of rights in all transactions to overhaul this predatory mess, and level the playing field back to some semblance of what it used to be like before they got control of it.

But concerning the OP... these banks should have to honor leases unless/until they have a bona fide occupying buyer. Leases are contracts too and should be counted for something. Also the county should be just as active about getting the renters' deposits returned, as they are about executing evictions for the banks. I'll bet it isn't though.

In Md., landlords are required to put renters' deposits into interest-bearing escrow accounts. This used to be well-known by the public so renters would insist on having the account information, but now, many renters don't know about their rights to see that they're enforced when they first sign a lease.

[spag68]

74. This cop sounds like a good guy

However, as soon as I read some of the posts, and remembered how this crap is done, I had a fearful thought. BLACKWATER

[im1013]

75. That is freaking AWESOME!

"We will no longer be a party to something that's so unjust,"

It's about damn time somebody grew a pair!


:toast::toast:

[RainDog]

78. Agreed

I'd bet this guy is also aware of American history that rarely gets mentioned -

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/18306

...resistance in the 1930s, when farmers and tenants used mob power -- and sometimes firearms -- to fight foreclosures and evictions. For more on that, I consulted Frances Fox Piven, co-author of the classic text Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail, who told me that in the early 30s, a number of cities were so shaken by the resistance that they declared moratoriums on further evictions. A 1931 riot by Chicago tenants who had fallen behind on their rent, for example, had left three dead and three police officers injured.

According to Piven, these actions were often spontaneous. A group of unemployed men would get word of a scheduled eviction and march through the streets, gathering crowds as they went. Arriving at the site of the eviction, they would move the furniture back into the apartment and stay around to protect the threatened tenants. In one instance in Detroit, it took 100 cops to evict a single family. Also in Detroit, Piven said, "two families protected their apartments by shooting their landlord and were acquitted by a sympathetic jury."

The Invisible Man, by James Baldwin, also has a segment in which he's involved with the labor movement and participates in moving people's things back into an apartment after their furniture has been put out on the street.

Considering AIG could go on a spa retreat after they got their bailout money, anyone who evicts a person from a house or apt at this point is stupid beyond belief - they don't realize, yet, who is on "their side" and who would turn around and do the same thing to that cop.

[slackmaster]

79. Admirable moral stand but he deserves to be fired immediately for insubordination

He's just substituting one injustice (multiple injustices, actually) for another. That is not his job. Tenants who were not given due notice have recourse through the court system.

[mainegreen]

80. So do the foreclosing parties.

In fact, since they should be following the law, and going through the court system to foreclose, this should never, ever be a problem and his statement should have no consequence.

Unless the foreclosing party is breaking the law, which as near as I can tell, means the sheriff has no duty to evict tenants.

[PeaceNikki]

81. You obviously didn't actually read the details in the articles posted.

But knee-jerking is fun!

In addition, sheriff's are elected.

[slackmaster]

84. You are mistaken, I did read it

I came to a different conclusion than you did. Deal with it.

[RainDog]

86. It's good to know what side of this class war people are on

and you declared yourself on the side of the crony capitalist crooks by failing to recognize there is a bigger principle at work here. sometimes civil disobedience is necessary when a system is broken.

American is broken at this time.

With a Chicago winter coming on, I applaud that man for doing the right thing.

[slackmaster]

87. As I said in my initial reply, people facing an unlawful eviction have recourse in the court system

That's the way things are supposed to work. This Sheriff has abdicated his duty, because he has stopped enforcing ALL foreclosure-related evictions INCLUDING LAWFUL ONES.

He's not doing his job.

...you declared yourself on the side of the crony capitalist crooks...

Breaking an issue down to a binary Us vs. Them choice is a lot easier than engaging in deep thought and forming a nuanced, balanced opinion, isn't it?

[PeaceNikki]

89. That's not realistic and you know it.

These are people living paycheck to paycheck and/or with housing assistance. They are rendered homeless and forced to try to find a place after having lost their security deposit. Now they have to scrape up 1st month and a new security deposit. You're suggesting that they file suit? PPPUULLEEEZE!

Again, if you read the articles, Dart is forcing the banks to provide proof that they have given proper notification to the people who live in these homes. That's all. He's not unilaterally refusing to evict people.

Your line of "because he has stopped enforcing ALL foreclosure-related evictions INCLUDING LAWFUL ONES." is simply not true. Read the articles.

[slackmaster]

90. How dare you presume to know what is going on in my mind?

These are people living paycheck to paycheck and/or with housing assistance.

All of them? Where the FUCK did you get that information?

[PeaceNikki]

91. I read. On this topic even. You obviously didn't. At least not for comprehension.

Or you wouldn't have said that he's unilaterally refusing to evict ALL foreclosures. He's not.

Here's an article that shows who this effects:
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/govt/story.aspx?id=98129

[redwitch]

82. Good for him!

Damn. We need more people like that.

[robertpaulsen]

83. Sheriff Tom Dart, I salute you.

:patriot:

[Dr Fate]

92. Thank God there are still one or two Good Guys left. n/t

n/t