actionnow.org

On September 24th, 2009 Action Now members held a tour of homes left vacant by foreclosure and a neighborhood clean-up on the 6600 block of South Wolcott. Executive Director Denise Dixon led the tour of the block and at each property she visited, Action Now members posted a large sign on the door naming the bank that owns that foreclosed home, to expose their violation of the vacant property ordinance. “Vacant buildings attract gangs, drugs and crime. Homes are stripped of their copper piping, wiring, furnaces and anything of value, then they are neglected and fall into a state of severe disrepair. They are an eyesore and a danger to the community,” said Dixon.

Action Now wants Chicago's Vacant Properties Ordinance changed to require that mortgage servicers register their properties. Registration fees would fund foreclosure outreach for the Cook County Courts' Foreclosure Mediation Program.

According to a recent study by Dan Immergluck of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and Geoff Smith of Woodstock Institute in Chicago, when the foreclosure rate increases 1 percentage point, neighborhood violent crime rises 2.33 percent. The Corporation for Enterprise Development recently gave Illinois a "D" grade for housing and homeownership because of the state's high rate of foreclosures.

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