Sheriff in Illinois' Cook County says he will cease evictions-B of A Listed

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010, 1:52 pm

Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Thomas Dart said Tuesday he would not carry out evictions involving Bank of America (BAC: 11.50 -2.54%), Ally Financial (GJM: 22.04 -0.36%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 38.19 +1.33%) starting Oct. 25.

BofA, Ally and JPMorgan Chase suspended foreclosures in 23 states, which includes Illinois, as they review affidavits signed without proper review or a notary present. BofA said it will begin resubmitting affidavits and restart foreclosures in those 23 states on Oct. 25. Ally is resubmitting affidavits as it remediates faulty documentation.

Banks repossessed more than 102,000 homes in the Chicago area in September.

According to Dart's office, the recent freezes did not stop evictions already in the process. These three servicers and their subsidiaries account for one-third of the 3,700 eviction orders filed in Cook County every year.

"I can't possibly be expected to evict people from their homes when the banks themselves can't say for sure everything was done properly," Dart said. "I need some kind of assurance that we aren't evicting families based on fraudulent behavior by the banks. Until that happens, I can't in good conscience keep carrying out evictions involving these banks."

Two years ago, Dart refused to carry out evictions for any banks when renters were given no notice about a foreclosure on their accommodation.

Friday, Dart sent a letter to the banks' attorneys demanding affidavits that affirm any foreclosures filed in Cook County and those awaiting eviction orders in court have been properly processed. He gave the banks five days to respond.

According to Dart, legal proceedings take about two years from the time a foreclosure is filed until it reaches his office.

Write to Jon Prior.

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