Illinois Foreclosure Rates Still On The Rise

Home foreclosures in the Chicago suburbs and outer lying counties have risen sharply in the past three months, according to the Chicago Tribune. While home foreclosures within Cook County have decreased by five percent this financial quarter, "collar counties" like Will and Kane saw an increase in filings of at least 53% when compared to last year. The Woodstock Institute, a Chicago based economic research group, attributes the increase partly to the Illinois Homeowner Protection Act and the Home Affordable Modification Program.

According to the group, who are scheduled to release new data today, the introduction of the HAWP and IHPA likely shifted some foreclosures from second quarter to third. The timing appears to matter little however. In an interview with the Tribune, Geoff Smith, vice president of Woodstock said, “You can slow down the process, but if you don't have really realistic alternatives for folks, they're still going to go into foreclosure at some point.”

With the unemployment rate in Illinois at its highest in 26 years, any increase in foreclosures shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Illinois currently holds the number 10 spot for foreclosure related filings in the United States. While pundits, politicians and Wall Street wizards are telling the public our economy is “likely” out of recession, the rest of America might have trouble believing that. President Obama said, “We anticipate that we're going to continue to see some job losses in the weeks and months to come.” Once again, we’d like to know exactly how we’re supposed to pay the mortgage or rent without gainful employment.