Illinois Is the Last State Still Unlawfully Stripping Wealth From Homeowners in Tax Foreclosures

Illinois is the last state still unlawfully stripping wealth from homeowners in tax foreclosures

When Cook County sheriff’s deputies burst into the Maywood home of 74-year-old Velma Lewis with a battering ram, it wasn’t because she had committed a crime. Nor was there a warrant for her arrest.It was because she’d fallen so far behind on her property taxes.A decade ago, Lewis — whose mother bought the two-flat in 1961 and had long since paid it off — decided to replace her tattered roof instead of paying $6,200 in property taxes.After she fa…

Illinois is the last state still unlawfully stripping wealth from homeowners in tax foreclosures – Chicago Sun-Times

Illinois is the only state that hasn’t adopted reforms aimed at giving homeowners who lose their homes their fair share of the tax sale proceeds. Since 2019, more than 1,000 owner-occupied homes in Cook County were taken through property tax foreclosure. More than half were taken after an initial property tax debt of $1,600 or less.

Illinois is the last state to unlawfully strip wealth from homeowners caught in tax foreclosure

This is a joint project of Injustice Watch and the Investigative Project on Race and EquityWhen Cook County sheriff’s deputies burst into the Maywood home of 74-year-old Velma Lewis with a battering ram, it wasn’t because she had committed a crime or had a warrant issued for her arrest. It was because she fell so far behind on her property taxes.  Lewis — whose mother purchased the two-flat in 1961 and had long since paid it off — made the fatef…