If you've followed the local news around the financial collapse, you know that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has made national news for suspending foreclosure evictions in the county, citing the number of rent-paying tenants that were being suddenly evicted after the landlord neglected the mortgage payments. Dart resumed evictions after being assured by the banks that tenants in good standing would be able to stay in their homes. His stance on evictions has earned him praise (as well as criticism), including Time Magazine naming him one of its 100 most influential people for 2009. more ›

According to a report that compared the responses of six metropolitan areas to the foreclosure crisis, Chicago was among one of the "more resilient metros in the study." The report summarized in Chi Town Daily News, classified Chicago as a "mixed-market metro" meaning it has both weak and strong real-estate markets, and attributes Chicago's ability to bounce back to "regulations against predatory lending, a generous amount of time between foreclosure filings and sales, and collaboration between private and public organizations in Chicago helped prevent thousands of residents from losing their homes." more ›