• Lisa Simpson
• Jul 1,2009
• In: Bank Foreclosures

Bank Foreclosures In Chicago

Chicago City is the largest in Illinois State and the Midwest. Chicago ranks third in gross metropolitan product and has the best balanced economy in the country because of its diversifications. It ranks 16th among the world’s richest cities. But despite it being an important financial centre of the world and its ranking the second highest business district in USA, bank foreclosures in Chicago are a blight on its good name and a cause of concern.

Chicago also ranks second in concentration of labour power but that has made the crisis all the more severe as bank foreclosures in Chicago is gnawing into the vitality of the once thriving city.

Many efforts are being initiated at the federal, state and local level as well as by non-profit organizations to mitigate the pain resulting from bank foreclosures. But lately demonstrations are being staged as the people are losing their patience.

It is apprehended that in Cook County there will be 50,000 new foreclosure postings. Recently protestors, fed up with bank foreclosures in Chicago, gathered outside the offices of Bank of America. Their anger was however directed to the lending lobby in general. The bank foreclosures in Chicago are responsible for creating such an atmosphere that the people facing foreclosures are fed up with trying to make the banks talk to them.

The banks deny these charges and say that they are always willing to lend a helping hand. Bank of America said that in 2008 they had negotiated work outs with 300,000 foreclosure victims.

According to census figures for seven years from 2000 the number of vacant houses in Chicago jumped by 32% calculating to 165,679 units.

The federal government has recently sanctioned $55.2 million under Neighborhood Stabilization Program for combating the problem of vacant houses. Among the cities Chicago has been granted the biggest amount. Plans are afoot to rehabilitate over 1,500 houses in 25 community regions that have been worst affected. These are concentrated in the south and west sides of Chicago. The north side is being unfairly neglected. It had seen a spike of 150%in foreclosures in 2008.

In 2008 $5 million was spend in boarding up or bulldozing vacant bank foreclosures in Chicago. The exact number of vacant units is unavailable but it is probably more than 3,600.

In Chicago Lawn there are so many foreclosures that hardly any block has been left alone. The people are not fighting but just walking away from their homes.

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