County wants to crack down on vacant buildings despite Fed’s fight
By Lisa Donovan Cook County Reporter ldonovan@suntimes.com December 13, 2011 5:58PM
Cook County wants to crack down on vacant buildings. | Sun-Times
Related Stories
Updated: January 15, 2012 8:19AM
Cook County commissioners are pushing ahead with a proposed crackdown on owners, lenders and any entity with a financial interest in vacant properties blighting communities across the region, undeterred by a federal lawsuit filed this week against the city of Chicago over a similar measure.
Owners of problem empty buildings sitting in unincorporated Cook County would have to register the building annually, pay a one-time $250 fee and follow guidelines for maintaining and securing the home or business.
Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer has led the charge, concerned the foreclosure crisis has triggered a wave of vacant properties that are neglected and in some cases left to the devices of criminals.
“The way the market was supposed to work, the person who holds the mortgage works to maintain the value of that asset,” Gainer said. “That’s not happening now.”
Statistics show it can take 18 to 24 months for foreclosed abandoned properties to work their way through the court system and, ostensibly, back on to the real estate market.
“Right now, if you have someone go in to default, it’s two years for that bank to get title. What’s supposed to happen in two years? Homes aren’t meant to sit vacant, they develop mold. They become magnets for crime,” Gainer said.
It also means plummeting property values and a loss in property tax income for local governments. It can also be costly for municipalities that must pick up the tab for boarding up or maintaining the property.
While she didn’t have firm statistics on abandoned properties in unincorporated stretches, Gainer said the problem is clearly widespread from the calls she’s fielding.
“This was once something that happened in an isolated pocket in low income neighborhoods, but now it’s happening around the county.”
Gainer met with Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo along with Oak Park and Evanston which already have such registries to iron out maintenance standards for properties in unincorporated areas. That includes everything from boarding up windows and doors with board or metal security panels to keeping grass and weeds below ten inches.
A dozen commissioners have signed on to the measure — more than the nine needed if it comes to a vote Wednesday.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle initially questioned whether the county’s ordinance could survive a legal challenge.
“I thought it was a good idea, but if the federal government is going to sue the city we need to look at our ordinance again,” Preckwinkle said.
After the president’s legal counsel and state’s attorney — the board of commissioners’s legal counsel — reviewed the measure, Preckwinkle spokeswoman Jessey Neves said later the administration is “comfortable” with the measure moving forward.
Contributing: Fran Spielman
Comments Click here to view or make a comment