Sheriff Refuses To Evict Foreclosure Victims

Sheriff Refuses to Evict Foreclosure=20 Renters
by Robert=20 Franco |=20 2008/10/09=20 |

Reprinted with permission http://www.sourceoftitle.com/ =

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It seems rather obvious that if you don't make your = payments, the lender will foreclose and you will be = evicted=20 from your home. But, what if the owner doesn't = live=20 there? What about the landlords that have failed = to meet=20 their obligations, and their renters who have paid the = rent? The system seems to be breaking down when = innocent=20 people, who have met their financial obligations, are = thrown=20 out on the street.

Sheriff Thomas Dart, in Cook County, has had an = attack of=20 conscience and he has announced that he just won't = evict=20 innocent people from their homes anymore. He is=20 suspending foreclosure evictions in Cook County, which = includes the city of Chicago. He could find = himself=20 locked up in his own jail for ignoring eviction = orders, but=20 this wouldn't be the first time a sheriff spent time = behind=20 bars for refusing to evict people from their = homes. Are=20 you curious to know what happened to the last lawman = who took=20 a similar stand?

According to Dart, the mortgage = companies are=20 supposed to identify the occupants of a building = before they=20 seek to have them evicted. This, however, is not = being=20 done in Cook County. Dart wants the = legislature to do=20 something to protect the many innocent people that are = unaware=20 of their landlord's financial problems... at least, = unaware=20 until a deputy knocks on their door to evict = them. =20 (see Illinois Sheriff Scolds Banks for = Evictions of=20 'Innocent' Renters)

"These mortgage companies ... don't care = who's in=20 the building," Dart said Wednesday. "They = simply want=20 their money and don't care who gets hurt along = the=20 way.

"On top of it all, they want taxpayers to = fund=20 their investigative work for them. We're not = going to=20 do their jobs for them anymore. We're just not = going=20 to evict innocent tenants. It stops=20 = today."

The Illinois Bankers Association, not = surprisingly, is=20 opposed to any legislation that would place a further = duty on=20 the lender to identify those who are tenants in = buildings that=20 are the subject of their foreclosures. They = simply=20 want Dart to enforce the court's eviction orders.

This may be an area where legal rights intersect = with=20 moral wrongs. Tenants have rights. In order = to evict=20 a tenant in Illinois, a landlord must follow proper = procedure=20 - including notifying the tenant.

The Illinois Bankers = Association said=20 that Dart "was elected to uphold the law and = to=20 fulfill the legal duties of his office, which = include=20 serving eviction notices."

The association said Dart could be found in = contempt of court for ignoring court eviction=20 orders.

"The reality is that by ignoring the law = and his=20 legal responsibilities, he is carrying out=20 'vigilantism' at the highest level of an = elected=20 official," it said. "The Illinois banking = industry is=20 working hard to help troubled homeowners in = many ways,=20 but Sheriff Dart's declaration of 'martial = law' should=20 not be=20 = tolerated."

"The complete process of evicting a tenant = in=20 Illinois involves five distinct steps although = the=20 occurrence or execution of all the five steps = may not=20 be necessary for the tenant to lose her right = to=20 possession: the first essential step is that = the=20 tenant must be delinquent in her rent, second, = the=20 landlord must notify the tenant, in = writing, that=20 the rent must be paid within no less than five = days,=20 third, the specified time period mentioned in = the=20 notice must pass without tender of payment by = the=20 tenant, fourth, the landlord must sue for = possession=20 or maintain ejectment and obtain a judgment = for=20 possession and fifth, a writ of possession = issued=20 pursuant to the judgment for possession."=20
Robinson v. Chicago Hous. Auth., 54 = F.3d=20 316 (7th Cir.=20 = 1995)

But, in these cases in Cook county, the tenant = isn't being=20 evicted by the landlord because they didn't pay the=20 rent. They are being evicted because the = landlord has=20 failed to make their mortgage payments. The = rights of=20 the lender in this instance are superior to those of = the owner=20 and his tenants. Still, this doesn't change the = fact=20 that the tenant is an innocent third party. = The=20 rights of the tenant should not be cast aside in such = a=20 cavalier manner. Shouldn't they at least be = afforded=20 notice of the foreclosure action, and the likelihood = of=20 eviction?

This seems to be all that Dart is looking = for. =20 Make the lenders do their due diligence and notify = the=20 tenants before they seek to have them = evicted. The=20 landlord would have to do the same if he were seeking = to evict=20 them. The tenants should not lose all of their = rights=20 merely because the eviction is a result of a = foreclosure,=20 rather than an action for forcible entry and = detainer.

Dart has taken a moral stand on behalf of the = innocent=20 tenants. As I mentioned, he is not the first = sheriff to=20 refuse to throw people out of their homes. In = the early=20 1980's, Sheriff Jim=20 Traficant refused to execute foreclosure orders = evicting=20 Youngstown, Ohio, residents from their homes. = During=20 that time, Youngstown was experiencing a high rate of=20 unemployment due to steel mill closures.

Out of a = sense of=20 compassion, or maybe because it made for good = theater,=20 Traficant refused to evict these workingmen who = were=20 guilty of nothing but losing their jobs. = Traficant spent=20 time in jail for his refusal to serve the = eviction=20 notices, and he became a folk hero. Some people = thought=20 he could walk on water.
(see Welcome to=20 = Youngstown...)

Traficant was later charged with racketeering and = accepting=20 bribes. He became the only person to ever win a = RICO=20 case representing himself. He went on to be = elected to=20 Congress. He served as a member of the U.S. = House of=20 Representatives from 1985 to 2002 when he was expelled = after a=20 bribery conviction that earned him an 8-year prison=20 sentence.

Perhaps Traficant is not a man that Dart would want = to be=20 compared to, but clearly this shows that following = your=20 conscience and placing a high value on standing up for = a moral=20 right can be good for your political future. = Arguably,=20 moral activism launched Traficant's career... and = moral decay=20 ended it.

In Dart's case, I think he is making a brave and = righteous decision. Clearly the lenders have a = right to=20 foreclose, but the system needs to be changed and the = rights=20 of the tenants need to be = protected.

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