May 9, 2008

Attorney General Lisa Madigan, State Representative Marlow Colvin (D-33rd) and State Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-16th) have initiated new legislation to assist struggling homeowners to help save their homes. The measure, introduced as the Homeowner’s Rights Act (HB 838) by Rep. Colvin and set to be sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Collins, was voted out of house committee Wednesday and, if passed, will amend the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law.

The legislation requires lenders to attach a notice to foreclosure filings that clearly explains the homeowners’ rights and their options to save their homes. The notice must include information about legal resources that may be available to the homeowner. The bill also requires lenders to provide statements within a specific timeframe that show exactly how much homeowners must pay in order to avoid foreclosure. In addition, the bill attempts to encourage private attorneys to represent struggling families by granting the court the authority to award legal fees to attorneys who successfully represent homeowners. In the current foreclosure crisis, a large percentage of homeowners go through the foreclosure process without legal representation.

Illinois’ mortgage foreclosure rate continues to rank among the highest in the nation, with 6,194 foreclosures filed by lenders in March 2008 alone—placing the state third in the number of new foreclosures filed, after California and Florida.