Sheriff tells deputies not to help in foreclosures

[ShowMeLiberty]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27090355/

Sheriff tells deputies not to help in foreclosures
Illinois lawman too many innocent renters are being made homeless

CHICAGO - 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.

(continued)​

Right on, Sheriff Dart! Tenants deserve fair warning. The foreclosure is none of their doing and I think this sheriff is absolutely making the right call on this.

 

[Malakai]

It's a hard call. Enforce a contract and throw someone out on their butt, or violate one of the basic freedoms in the US and abandon one of the only constitutional things the government/police do.

If someone agreed to pay you 20k for your car, and then dipped out with your car and never paid, I think you'd be pretty pissed if the cops told you "sorry I feel bad taking the car away from him so you're out of luck".

It's easy to pull a double standard when it's a bank on the other end, but it's a slippery slope the government has unfortunately already begun sliding down.

 

[noxagol]

Totally wrong call. One legitimate role of government is enforcement of contracts. Tenets only deserve fair warning if their contract agreement with the contract calls for one. If a land lord follows the term of his/her contract with the tenet, then the police have no right to not do their job because they think its unjust. The owner of property wants someone gone, it is the police's duty to make them gone from the property.

 

[ladyliberty3]

You are right, however this brought something else to mind. Could it be that when the S really HTF there will be police officers and possibly military that will stand with the people against the federal gov.?

 

[azminuteman]

It's Chicago. What do you expect.

 

[ShowMeLiberty]

You guys didn't read the entire article, did you? Here's a bit more:

Dart said that from now on, banks will have to present his office with a court affidavit that proves the home’s occupant is either the owner or has been properly notified of the foreclosure proceedings.

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.

This week, an attorney asked that Dart be held in contempt when his deputies did not evict tenants after determining they were not the owners and did not know about their landlord’s financial problems.

A judge denied the attorney’s request, Dart’s office said, and Dart said that after talking to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, he is confident he is on solid legal ground.

“My job as sheriff is to follow court orders, absolutely,” he said. “But I’m also in charge of making sure justice is being done here and it is clear that justice is not being done here.”

The state’s attorney’s office said it would not comment on conversations with Dart because his office is a client.

Foreclosures have skyrocketed around the country in recent months and 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.

Dart warned that because the eviction process on foreclosures can take more than a year, the number is sure to climb even higher.

“From all the numbers we have seen, we know (they) are going to be exploding,” he said.

Sharga said there are more than 1 million U.S. homes in foreclosure — with about a third of that number occupied by someone other than the owner.

“That number will continue to get bigger,” he said.

Dart said he believes banks are not doing basic research to determine that the people being evicted are, in fact, the homeowners.

He said that in a third of the 400 to 500 foreclosure evictions his deputies had been carrying out every month, the residents are not those whose names are on the eviction papers.

Nor, he said, are banks notifying tenants that the homes they’re renting are in foreclosure. He added that when banks do learn the correct names of those living on foreclosed-upon property, their names often are simply added to eviction papers.

“They just go out and get an order the next day and throw these people’s names on there,” Dart said. “Whether they (tenants) have been notified, God only knows.”

Evictions for nonpayment of rent will continue, Dart said, explaining that those cases already have gone to court, his office is confident the people being evicted are who the landlord says they are, and there is no question the tenants are aware of what is going on.

​

 

[Bruno]

You are right, however this brought something else to mind. Could it be that when the S really HTF there will be police officers and possibly military that will stand with the people against the federal gov.?

You bring up a good point. We can only hope so.

 

[ShowMeLiberty]

You bring up a good point. We can only hope so.

Exactly. See above where I posted more of the original article. I believe that is exactly what this sheriff is doing - following the law rather than just doing what the banks say to do.

 

[angelatc]

Right on, Sheriff Dart! Tenants deserve fair warning. The foreclosure is none of their doing and I think this sheriff is absolutely making the right call on this.

Well, it's Chicago. Of course they're going to take the liberal side, and create a freaking gut-wrenching story to go along.

It seems that the solution would be to give some teeth to a failure to provide 120 day notice if that's the case, but the article also says that a lot of the people aren't really tenants - they're homeowners.


I am sorry, but it takes more than a year for the bank to foreclose. If those people haven't managed to save up enough money to get a new place by then....I feel bad for them, but the property belongs to somebody else.

 

[noxagol]

The law is wrong. They have no place setting limits on the right to contract.

 

[angelatc]

The law is wrong. They have no place setting limits on the right to contract.

State's rights. If the state wants a tenant bill of rights, so to speak, I have no problem with it.

I just hate Chicago. The people that are getting saved here are simply the same lot that took out mortgages they couldn't afford.

 

[ShowMeLiberty]

Well, it's Chicago. Of course they're going to take the liberal side, and create a freaking gut-wrenching story to go along.

It seems that the solution would be to give some teeth to a failure to provide 120 day notice if that's the case, but the article also says that a lot of the people aren't really tenants - they're homeowners.


I am sorry, but it takes more than a year for the bank to foreclose. If those people haven't managed to save up enough money to get a new place by then....I feel bad for them, but the property belongs to somebody else.

The sheriff doesn't have a problem evicting the residents if they are the homeowner. They obviously know they are in foreclosure. His objection is with tenants who were not notified, according to Illinois law, that they would have to vacate the residence.

Also he is not saying he won't do these evictions ever - just that he wants proof the bank and/or property owner followed the notification law.

I have no problem with that. None at all.

The law is wrong. They have no place setting limits on the right to contract.

So the sheriff should ignore the law? Right or wrong, it is the law and the sheriff's job is to enforce it. Unless and until the law is changed, I still say this sheriff is making the right call.

 

[angelatc]

I see your point, but I'll bet that there are very few people, if any, who actually fit the profile.

I'm tellin' ya, if it's out of Chicago it's a liberal scam.

 

[noxagol]

So the sheriff should ignore the law? Right or wrong, it is the law and the sheriff's job is to enforce it. Unless and until the law is changed, I still say this sheriff is making the right call.

So if there were a law requiring you to hop on one foot everywhere, the police should still enforce it?

 

[autobot]

Geez, have a heart people...the sherrif is correct. People should be notified if they are going to be evicted a couple of months ahead of time.

It's the law and so kicking out families without notification is breaking the law.

So these cops have been breaking the law AND the golden rule.