Illinois sheriff: No foreclosure evictions on my watch

quote:Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said Wednesday he is suspending foreclosure evictions in Cook County, which had been on track to reach a record number of evictions, many because of mortgage foreclosures.

He said many of the evictions involve renters who are paying their rent on time but are being thrown out because the landlord has fallen behind on mortgage payments.

Mortgage companies are supposed to identify a building's occupants before asking for an eviction, but sheriff's deputies routinely find that the mortgage companies have not done so, he said.

"These mortgage companies only see pieces of paper, not people, and don't care who's in the building," Dart said. "They simply want their money and don't care who gets hurt along the way.

"On top of it all, they want taxpayers to fund their investigative work for them. We're not going to do their jobs for them anymore. We're just not going to evict innocent tenants. It stops today."

Needless to say, the bankers are not impressed:

quote: The Illinois Bankers Association opposed the plan, saying that Dart "was elected to uphold the law and to fulfill the legal duties of his office, which include serving eviction notices."
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The association said Dart could be found in contempt of court for ignoring court eviction orders.

Watching the video on the CNN site is worthwhile in my opinion. This story makes a good arguement for elected sheriffs (something I always kinda laughed at to be honest); I cannot in a million years imagine the RCMP making a stand for the people like this.

[ 09 October 2008: Message edited by: It's Me D ]