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Families in the Chicagoland area and throughout Illinois continue to face challenges during a slow economic recovery. On September 20, 2012, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Census Bureau estimated that the median household income of Chicagoans was $43,628 in 2011, almost $7,000 less than the national figure of $50,502. The Chicago Tribune said the 2011 median household income was “$4,000 less than in 2009 and part of a steady decline over the past three years.” On September 30, 2012, urban affairs consultant and teacher John McCarron noted in a commentary for the Tribune that the Woodstock Institute found that more than a quarter of all mortgaged homes in Cook County were “underwater” going into 2012. McCarron also wrote that Chicago has “22,169 dwellings in serious mortgage delinquency headed for default and an additional 9,240 already repossessed by lenders and up for sale,” but noted that the figure does not include thousands of buildings in which “delinquent mortgage-holders have handed the keys to lenders who, in turn, are letting the residences rot without trying to resell.” McCarron said some experts estimate the city now has at least 40,000 vacant dwelling units. These vacancies affect the prices of other homes in the neighborhood. On October 2, 2012, the Tribune reported that a CoreLogic report said local home prices in the Chicago area declined 2.5 percent from a year ago and slipped 1.7 percent compared to July—the second largest decrease in the United States. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan offered some advice for homeowners facing foreclosure in a column entitled, “How to find foreclosure help.” In an op-ed published in the Sun-Times on October 4, 2012, Madigan encouraged troubled homeowners to be aware of these four options: - Housing counseling agencies certified by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)
- Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)
- Illinois Hardest Hit Fund
Kevin Benjamin Benjamin Legal Services
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