Does new Illinois foreclosure law help homeowners or con artists?
Two news items regarding mortgage fraud and foreclosure caught our eyes this week. The first was Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s declaration of “war on the con artists who prey on homeowners desperate to keep their homes.” The article, which ran on MSNBC.com also covered the joint announcement by the Treasury, The Department of Justice, the Department of Housing & Urban Development, the Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General which, according to MSNBC, “provided homeowners with a high-profile warning to avoid foreclosure rescue scams and a pledge to better coordinate government efforts to stop them.” The second story, reported in the Chicago Tribune and other news sources, announced Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn had signed a new law giving homeowners an “extra” 90 days before foreclosure. The new Illinois law, which Quinn describes as “an important step in addressing the crisis that has swept Chicago, the state and the country” changes little. In fact, we expect it a
