Missing the Mark a Chicago Reporter Investigation Found That Many Teens Convicted of Gun Crimes Were Never Clearly Identified As Having Had a Gun

VOLUME 40 NUMBER 3 MAY/JUNE 2011 $5

Missing the mark A Chicago Reporter investigation found that many teens convicted of gun crimes were never clearly identified as having had a gun. page 10

CHICAGOREPORTER.COM 2 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 INSIDE May/June

Founded in 1972, the Reporter is an investigative bimonthly that identifies, analyzes and reports on the social, economic and political issues of metropolitan Chicago with a focus on race and poverty. It is supported by grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Challenge Fund for Journalism, Woods Fund of Chicago, The Chicago Community Trust, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Chicago Tribune Foundation, The Fund for Investigative Journalism, Inc., and by subscriptions and individual contributions.

332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 500 Chicago, Illinois 60604 (312) 427-4830 Fax: (312) 427-6130 [email protected] www.chicagoreporter.com Four teens were arrested at this Chatham building in 2009 after police reported watching through a FOUNDER window as the teens hid weapons in a second-story apartment. Photo by Jason Reblando. John A. McDermott

PUBLISHER Alden K. Loury On the cover 26 Housing accountability EDITOR State of New Jersey makes banks Kimbriell Kelly 10 Without a smoking gun liable for all vacant properties. Illinois is looking to crack down on MANAGING EDITOR gun crimes by sending more 15- and Rui Kaneya 16-year-olds into adult court. But a Departments Chicago Reporter investigation found PRESENTATION EDITOR Editor’s Note/News...... 5 Christine Wachter that for many youth already there, it’s not clear if they even ever had a gun. Spinoffs...... 6 REPORTERS Angela Caputo 15 Concentrated cases Q&A...... 8 BLOGGER/REPORTER Nearly half of all teens facing gun Parting Shot...... 28 Megan Cottrell charges in adult felony court were from just nine contiguous ZIP codes ON THE COVER: COPY EDITOR on the city’s Far South Side. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOE GALLO James Tehrani INTERNS 17 Trigger trauma In the next issue Allison Griner A.Jay Wagner Center helps to fill void for youth who Louis McGill Samantha Winslow In its July/August issue, The Chicago experience hardship. Reporter will examine how the State EDITORS & PUBLISHERS EMERITI of Illinois awards its contracts and Alysia Tate Also inside explore how much business is going to Laura S. Washington minority- or women-owned companies. Roy Larson 19 Unlucky 13

THE REPORTER READERS BUREAU An increasing number of people are turning to bankruptcy for a fresh start, Hiranmayi Bhatt Terri Johnson but many are leaving themselves Barbara Bolsen Keith Kelleher Got a news tip? susceptible to more debt by opting for Kristen Cox David Mussatt The Chicago Reporter brings injustice Chapter 13 protection. Matthew Nicol Turner-Lee to the forefront in the areas of Hendrickson Bob Yovovich criminal justice, labor, housing, health, Bob Honesty 23 Despair over disrepair immigration and government. If you Rev. Calvin S. Morris, executive director Lenders who owe the city fees for not have a tip, call (312) 427-4830 x4040 ISSN 0300-6921. registering vacant properties are still or email [email protected]. © 2011 Community Renewal Society. getting city business.

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 3 4 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 EDITOR’S NOTE Reporter News

Letter to this won’t end well the Editor It’s hard to root for the bad a step further by sampling I just read “An offender guys. And I’m an optimist, so more than half of the cases in among us” in your March/ I’m always the person at the which minors were convicted April 2011 issue and it’s a movies hoping for a happy of gun crimes to see the im- great article—underscoring ending. pact of their crimes. How the need to pay better en- But the work that we do many lives were snuffed out? forcement attention to black at The Chicago Reporter isn’t How many thousands in cash neighborhoods and protect- always so clear-cut. This and cars were lifted? ing black children. month’s cover investigation All told, one person was Typically, poor black is a prime example. Reporter murdered, fewer than a dozen neighborhoods get the worst Angela Caputo has unearthed were shot and only enough and least of every resource; some startling statistics that cash was stolen to buy a one- this is no exception, but an poke holes into commonly way ticket overseas—hardly indication of the level of held perceptions about a group the crimes of the hardened racism across the board that of people many of us would Kimbriell Kelly, Editor criminals politicians have exists in our society. I won- consider antagonists. They’re Opinions expressed by the sought to lock up. der though if the more ener- Chicago’s youth convicted as editor are her own. The Illinois General As- getic enforcement of these adults on gun charges. sembly is looking into a law residency rules in white It’s hard for most people We welcome letters. Send them that could put hundreds of neighborhoods doesn’t have to sympathize with these to [email protected] additional young people in the adverse effect of forc- children, except for maybe or 332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite the adult court system, which ing most sex offenders and the people who gave birth 500, Chicago, IL, 60604. Please is where 17-year-olds on gun predators into black neigh- to them. These teens are the include name, address and a day- charges end up. The new borhoods where there is lit- ones who pretty much carry time phone number. Letters may tough-on-crime law would tle, if any, enforcement. the blame in the court of be edited for space and clarity. push 15- and 16-year-olds on If and when they start public opinion for seasonal gun charges there as well. But enforcing the rules in black crime sprees that snuffed ever retrieved. if it’s not clear that these mi- neighborhoods, where do out the lives of hundreds of This fact wasn’t enough nors had guns to begin with, the sex offenders move to? young Chicagoans. for me to throw my support do we want to automatically A motel on the highway? But in taking a closer behind teens with guns. That transfer them to adult court? I know most people don’t look at many of these cases, will probably never happen. If our communities are care where sex offenders live Caputo’s story reveals a trou- But it did make me stop and going to be safer, then per- (as long as it’s not next door), bling trend. For many of the think: If the children we’re haps these cases need to be but they did do the time for teens charged, it was never putting behind bars for gun vetted more thoroughly. And the crime, and should be al- clear that they actually had a crimes never had a gun, is the we need to be sure we’re put- lowed the opportunity to re- gun. And in nearly half of the community really any safer? ting the hardened criminals mediate their lives. cases, no smoking gun was Caputo takes her research behind bars. n — Monica Murphy

40 years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s Michelle Alexander cites the Reporter Reporter News 1966 campaign in Chicago and the wide in her award-winning book, “The New Reporter Jeff Kelly Lowenstein has disparities in public education spend- Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the left The Chicago Reporter to become ing throughout Illinois. The Reporter Age of Colorblindness.” Alexander a database and investigations editor will miss Kelly Lowenstein’s lively spirit, twice cites “Black Offenders Face Stiff- at Hoy, the Chicago Tribune’s Spanish- dogged reporting and undying love for est Drug Sentences,” a January 2002 language newspaper. Kelly Lowenstein data. We wish him the very best. investigation where a Reporter analysis spent more than five years at the The Reporter has seven finalist of 110,000 drug cases revealed that Reporter covering labor/business and entries in four categories of the Chicago black defendants often received more health. He produced award-winning in- Headline Club’s 2010 Peter S. Lisagor severe penalties than white defen- vestigations on Chicago police officers Awards. One of the seven nominations dants even when they committed the sued for wrongful deaths in controver- is in the best multimedia collaboration same crimes and had similar criminal sial fatal shootings of civilians and ex- category. The other six nominations backgrounds. posed wide racial disparities in quality are spread among three awards: best The Reporter will have an exhibi- and staffing at nursing homes in Illinois in-depth reporting, best photography tor booth at the 2011 Green Festival and throughout the nation. His nursing and best graphics in the magazine or Chicago. The event will be held from home investigation helped spur legisla- magazine section, circulation less than 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, tive change in Illinois. He also produced 20,000 category. The awards will be and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, exhaustive packages on Chicago’s announced at a dinner on Friday, May 6. May 15, at McCormick Place’s Lakeside struggles with race and segregation Noted author and legal scholar Center, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive.

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 5 SPINOFFS Digging Deeper

Public wages in perspective Middle East meets The news: In March, Wisconsin legisla- Middle West tors passed a bill restricting public-sector workers’ collec- tive bargaining rights. Behind the news: Chicago residents who work in the public sector earn 9 percent more on average than their private-sector counterparts, but the situation is reversed when comparing incomes of only those who hold high-paying jobs, according a Chicago Reporter analysis of census data. In job categories with an average salary of more than $65,000, private-sector workers in Chicago made 13 percent more than those who work for city or county governments. These jobs include positions such as chief executives, lawyers, judges and physicians. But public-sector workers Libyans protest in April against Moamar Gadhafi in Al Bayda, Libya, amid intense fighting and made 32 percent more than interventions from the United Nations forces. Maurizio Gambarini/DPA/ZUMAPRESS.com their private-sector counterparts in jobs with an average The news: from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, living in the suburbs for salary of $35,000 or less—in- Jordan, Lebanon and Syria in decades,” Cainkar said. “This Since January, pro- cluding jobs as housekeepers, 2000 and 2009. pattern has increased over democracy protests have receptionists and file clerks. Iraqis, the largest group the past 10 years.” swept across the Middle East The analysis does not of Near Eastern immigrants Ed Silverman, refugee and North Africa, captivating factor in health benefits and in Illinois, saw an extensive coordinator for the Illinois the world’s attention. pensions. Keith A. Bender, an shift in their population Department of Human Ser- economist at the University between 2000 and 2009. vices, said the state has re- of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Behind the news: Their number fell by 40 ceived more than 3,000 Iraqi said the Reporter’s findings During the past decade, percent, from 5,100 to 3,000, refugees from late 2007 to aren’t surprising and offered the number of immigrants in Chicago but increased by 7 2010. He said the Reporter’s several contributing factors. from “Near East” countries percent to 10,300 statewide. numbers could point to the One is unionization, par- in Illinois climbed 18 percent, The increase in Near East- way newer refugees have ticularly evident in the public from 35,700 to 42,200, but ern immigrants statewide is been resettled. sector, that tends to compress it decreased slightly in Chica- likely a result of suburbaniza- “Unlike previous move- wages—raising salaries of go from 12,700 to 12,160. tion, said Louise Cainkar, a ments, in which the bulk of relatively low-paying jobs Of 19 countries around sociologist who has written refugees came to Chicago while reducing the wages of the Mediterranean Sea extensively on Arab Ameri- proper, [newer] refugees are higher-paying jobs. that are considered Near cans and immigrant integra- going to places like DuPage Bender said another factor East by the U.S. Depart- tion at Marquette University. County and Kane County as is political. “There might be ment of State, census data “The majority of Middle a result of family reunifica- a reluctance to pay the head captured a sizable popula- Easterners are middle class tion,” he said. of Chicago public schools— tion of foreign-borns only and above and have been —Philip Jacobson which is a huge organization— at the same rate as a CEO of the same-sized firm,” he said. Have you seen our blog? Go to www.chicagonow.com/muckrakers —Samantha Winslow

6 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 Latino community on the rise The news: county is also shrinking. Con- versely, the Latino population Latinos have surpassed Afri- Latino growth in the county increased 60 can Americans as the largest percent. The number of Latinos in Chicago could outnumber every minority group in Illinois, Within Chicago’s city other racial group by the year 2020. Latinos would tie the according to new estimates in limits, the numbers are white population by percentage, but outnumber that group the 2010 Census. even starker. Since 1980, by nearly 2,000 people. the population of black and Behind the news: white people has dropped .50Chicago population White Black Latino Latinos could become 54 percent and 36 percent, 43.7% Chicago’s largest racial or eth- respectively, as the number of 4039.5% nic group by the year 2020, Latinos living in the city has 32.2% 30 if growth trends from the grown 46 percent. 27.7% previous decade are repeated Chicago’s current racial between 2010 and 2020, split is 32.4 percent black, 20 according to U.S. Census 31.7 percent white and 28.9 14.1% data analyzed by The Chicago percent Latino. 10 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020* Reporter. At the same time, Lillia Fernandez, a profes- Latinos could surpass black sor at Ohio State University, * Projected percentage of population people as the largest minority has written extensively on Source: U.S. Census Bureau; analyzed by The Chicago Reporter. group in Cook County. Latino migration in Chicago. Since the 1980 Census, “We’re experiencing another ing and service jobs.” Majority-Latino wards tied the population of black and large-wave migration,” she- Will the growing La- with majority-black wards for white people in Cook County said. “They come for much the tino population equate to having had the lowest turnout, has shrunk 5.5 percent and same reasons, jobs and oppor- increased political influence? with just 38 percent of voters 44 percent, respectively, as tunity, as Chicago has long Not if the recent mayoral elec- showing up at the polls. the overall population of the been a center for manufactur- tion turnout is any indication. —A.Jay Wagner Thousands of students, few graduates The news: the two-year degree. Only 8 than half of all students left percent had. within their first six months. Former Chicago Bull Wallace Low rates The center calculated Katheryn Hayes, a City “Mickey” Johnson of North Chicago’s two-year graduation rates for the City Colleges spokesperson, said Lawndale recently ran for colleges have among Colleges by tracking 3,903 the district is tackling the alderman of the 24th Ward the lowest graduation students who entered the problem by closing the gap on a platform that included rates in the nation. district in 2006 for three in the ratio of advisers to improvements to the local years. The average district students. The district also education system. Graduation rates graduation rate was 7 per- recently assigned dedicated Harold Washington 9.8% cent. That rate is far lower advisers who stay with Behind the news: Wright 9.4% than the national aver- 2,100 students through During his five years as a Malcolm X 7.9% age of 30 percent and the the semester, rather than basketball coach at Malcolm Truman 7.3% state average of 21 percent allowing the students to find X College in the 2000s, Kennedy King 5.6% for similar institutions, as their own advisers in their Johnson said that he was calculated by the center for college’s advising center. Daley 5.3% the first coach there to have students entering colleges In January, the City players graduate. Olive-Harvey 3.3% in 2005. Colleges also formed task Often, he said, these Source: National Center for Education City Colleges’ records forces made up of staff, players were trying to move Statistics show that 87 percent of the faculty and students from on to four-year universi- 9,400 students the organi- each of the seven colleges ties, focusing more on their the problem isn’t confined to zation tracked left with- to tackle these and other game than their studies. But athletes. The center in 2008 out obtaining any sort of problems. The first round graduation data for the City surveyed students who degree from 2004 to 2010. of recommendations from Colleges of Chicago from entered Malcolm X three And among them, only 17 these groups will be made the National Center for Edu- years earlier to determine percent actually transferred in May. cation Statistics show that how many had completed to four-year colleges. More —Louis McGill

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 7 Q&A Rita Simó

A Juilliard-trained pianist dedicates her life to providing free music education

For 35 years, Rita Simó, the founder of the People’s Music School, has run her Uptown school in accordance to her belief that all music lessons should be—and can be—free. Photo by J.Geil. Sound investment By Allison Griner

In 1976, Juilliard-trained pianist Rita Simó hung a sign out- of parents and children side a grungy old Uptown beauty salon, offering free food and For more info through fundraising and beer to anyone willing to help her clean it up. Six hours and volunteer work. Teach- 18 volunteers later, all the caked-on hairspray and grime had To learn more about the ers like Carter Hoyt, who been scrubbed away, making room for free music education: People’s Music School, go to joined the staff fresh out the People’s Music School. www.peoplesmusicschool.org. of college in 1976, have Simó, the founder, is quick to point out that this institu- stuck with the school tion is not hers alone—but a school built by the people for even when it had no the people. The volunteers who helped clean the salon were money for salaries, and Simó recalls devoted students collect- among the first to enroll their children in the school’s first ing pennies and dimes to contribute to biannual fundraisers. class of 45 students. Simó sums up the school’s philosophy simply: “You have Thirty-five years later, parents line up around the block at to share your goods. You cannot keep it for yourself.” As Simó the crack of dawn to register their children, knowing that en- reasons, she got her own music education for free, thanks rollment, while free, will be an investment not only in their to her native Dominican Republic’s education system and a child’s education but also in the school as well. scholarship to the Juilliard School, so why shouldn’t she re- With 300 students, 29 paid teachers, and no tuition or fees, turn the favor? the school relies on the generosity of donors and the efforts This spirit of hard work and philanthropy, along with the

8 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 school’s intense music regimen, has produced doctors, teach- What are most students’ social background? ers and doctorate-degree earners. Some students have lever- aged their experience into music careers. One alumnus, Alan They’re from the neighborhood. They’re [Asians], they’re La- Pierson, was recently named artistic director of the Brooklyn tinos, some white, some black. There might be one or two peo- Philharmonic. ple who have a good social background—money—but I would “Rita Simó and the People’s Music School gave me my very say 90 percent are very poor. first introduction to music,” Pierson said. “The People’s Music We treat people here as equals, no matter your color, your School was also my first real connection to people from dif- size, what language you speak, who you go to bed with—it’s none ferent backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures. The effect of all of my business. Not now, but there have been moments when those experiences on my own life and career is incalculable.” people said, ‘How do you know that the people you have here are The Chicago Reporter sat down with Simó to discuss the not gay?’ And I said, ‘Why do I need to know that? I’m not going impact of the People’s Music School. to bed with them.’ There are people like that. Others say, ‘Do you know that you have students that are Jewish?’ I say, ‘So? I have What inspired you to open the People’s Music some that are Christian, too, and some that don’t go to church School? at all. What difference does it make?’ If you follow the little rules that we have here, that’s all there is to it. I realized that in this country if you didn’t have money, you We don’t ask how much money they make, but we are very couldn’t learn. My education in the Dominican Republic was all precise: Every [parent] here has to do at least two hours of vol- free, and when I came here, I had a scholarship from Juilliard—it unteer work a month, and that’s it. Whether you are a lawyer or was all free. So I was determined that I should pay it back, and a cook, we treat you equally: two hours. Even if you are a doctor this is why the school started. and you charge $50 for half an hour of your time, you may be In the Dominican Republic, they believe a person should de- giving us equal to several hundred dollars, but you still have to velop a talent, so we have a free school for dance, for theater and give that time to us. Money does not cover it. all kinds of conservatories for music. Art was part of your educa- Sometimes [parents] look at me and say, ‘She’s an old lady. tion. If you’re a human being, you should develop whatever tal- We can get away with whatever.’ One time, we had a registra- ents you’ve got, and that was it. In this country, it’s not like that. I tion, and [46th Ward Alderman] Helen Shiller was in line, be- mean, you can develop it if you have money to pay, so that’s why cause she wanted her granddaughter to study flute. Somebody this place is free. When you talk about democracy, democracy for went to her and said, ‘What are you doing in line? You should go me means that everybody should have the same opportunities. there and tell Rita that you’re here.’ Helen just looked at that lady and said, ‘Do you know Rita?’ The rules are for everybody. What challenges did you face putting this school together? Do the students have a hard time relating to classical music, with its high-class associations? Never having enough money for anything. Always begging people to help me. Learning how to write proposals—that was When [the students] talk to me about high-class classi- one of my biggest challenges. But, you know, there is always a cal music, I sit at the piano and play a merengue, and they say, challenge. Things are not going to come to your hands unless ‘Huh?’ Music is music, whether it’s, ‘I’m Dreaming of a White you put up with some things. When we were building our cur- Christmas’ or the songs from [George] Gershwin. It’s those rent building, I had written a proposal for the last hundred thou- kinds of songs that some people consider classical and that oth- sand dollars for the building fund, and, for whatever reason, we ers don’t consider as anything. It’s all one. Music is music. There were denied. The day I got that letter, I cried. I walked out of the are seven notes, and that’s all there is. [former location], and I walked all the way to Clark Street and up north, where there was a second-hand store. I walked in there What qualities does a music education instill? just to keep warm, and I heard this lady in a conversation with one of the workers there: ‘I want this table, because I want my There’s a pride. It’s your creation. Whenever I play for parties kids to eat breakfast on a table before they go to school. But I and stuff, I ask people to give me a tune, and then I improvise only have $15, and you’re charging $25. Can you go and ask the in that tune. It’s creating something. One of the things that we boss to give it to me for $15?’ see specifically in kids that come through here is discipline. They I heard this conversation, and then I sat down and I said, ‘This learn that if they want to accomplish something, they have to lady is asking for $10, and here I am upset because I didn’t get put some time into it. The result of that is that we have many, $100,000. What’s different between she and I?’ And the differ- many former students that are doctors and teachers. They are ence is that she’s still begging for it. not necessarily in music, but there are some music teachers as So you know what I did? People thought Rita had cracked up. well, and there are also people in orchestras and people who cre- I wrote an ad in the Chicago Reader, and it said, ‘The People’s ated a [musical] combo or groups like that. Music School is looking for a hundred persons that are willing to donate a $1,000, or a thousand persons who are willing to do- Do you think a school like this could be replicated nate $100 in order for us to finish our building. If you want more elsewhere? information …’ Then I put the school, the address and all of that. I sent it to the Reader. I think so, if you’re willing to put up with all the crap. It’s not Do you know how much money I made? $67,000 from people easy. The fact is that there are schools that charge money, and that I didn’t know anything about—complete strangers. So ask, they tell me—and I understand what they’re saying: ‘If we don’t and you shall receive. Of course, as I began to tell the story about charge money, we will not have students, because where are we that, more people gave us money. We moved into this place in going to get the money from?’ We have a woman whose job is to September of 1995, and I was able to finish paying all the busi- write proposals so we can have enough money. It costs $1,500 ness of the school in January of 1996. per student per year to have class. It’s a lot of money to raise. n

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 9 COVER STORY Gun Crimes Without a smoking gun

10 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 Without a smoking gun Illinois is looking to crack down on gun crimes by sending more 15- and 16-year-olds into adult court. But a Chicago Reporter investigation raises questions over whether the youth headed to lockup are the hardened criminals politicians intended to put away. By Angela Caputo

treyu Spears fidgeted anxiously as he sat in the bullpen, a corner of the Cook County courthouse where detainees wait for the bailiff to walk them to the judge’s bench. The past 69 days had been a blur. Af- ter leaving basketball practice on April 9, 2009, the 17-year-old headed to his friend Michael’s house. TheA two had struck up a friendship back in the third grade when Michael was the new kid in school. He was just one of nearly a dozen boys who lived within shouting distance of each other on a Chatham block packed tight with apartment buildings. Over the years, the group grew insepara- ble. “We’d hang out, spend the night at each other’s house playing video games, riding bikes, chasing girls,” Spears said. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Spears arrived at the aging brick walkup that cool spring evening. He headed upstairs to Michael’s bedroom to shoot hoops on Xbox. Five other teens were already in the second-floor apartment playing video games and watching television. Shortly after, Michael walked one of the boys downstairs. At the same time, police were responding to a call for gunshots fired in the area. Patrolmen arrived at the building on the 8100 block of South Maryland Street and said they saw two males run inside clutching hand guns.

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 11 COVER STORY Gun Crimes

Power Points To the backdrop of a new state proposal to automatically transfer potentially hundreds of additional minors charged with gun crimes into the adult felony courts, The Chicago Reporter looked into the quality of other gun cases opened against youth in Cook County and found: An overwhelming number of teens pleaded guilty even though they were never clearly identified as having a gun. Once teens were bumped up to adult felony courts, the number of charges leveled against them grew in a majority of the cases. Ultimately, these minors—who were overwhelmingly African American—were sentenced to 4,606 years, most of which will be served out in adult prison.

For more information about the people and organizations we write about, go to www.chicagoreporter.com.

The officers hung back, and one peered into the rear window of the second-story unit. According to police, the officer watched a pair of teens scurrying around hiding weapons in a bedroom that looked out onto the front yard. Members of the Area 2 gun team tore through the front and back doors simultaneously. “I froze,” Spears said, as he sat motionless on the bed. His younger brother, Marlon, and another two teens were watching television in the living room. Michael, who had come back inside, ran upstairs to a vacant third-floor apartment to hide. The other teen slipped away. The officers began flipping over mattresses, throwing dress- ers and dredging through the toilets, refrigerator and stove. They headed into the bedroom of Michael’s brother, Jasper, and rooted under the bed until finding a gun, a .38 special, tucked under the mattress. Jasper wasn’t home. Three other hand guns were found scattered throughout the apartment. There were four teens left in the house. Police charged each of the boys with gun possession. Marlon, who was 15 at the time, was the youngest one charged. He and the two 16-year-olds were sent to juvenile court. Michael, who got a bird’s eye view of the arrests from upstairs, and the teen who got away, avoided arrest altogether. But not Spears. At 17, he was the only teen to face an adult felony charge for a weapon he says he never possessed. Illinois is one of only 11 states that automatically prosecutes 17-year-olds as adults when it comes to felony charges. Under a maze of gun-related laws, some 15- and 16-year-olds are also is ever recovered. automatically sent up for prosecution in the adult system each The Reporter analyzed 1,376 cases of young people who year. But in the state’s effort to reduce violent street crime, a faced gun charges in adult courts between 2006 and 2010. proposed new law has re-emerged that would automatically Most of the defendants are African Americans from Chicago transfer more 15- and 16-year-olds to adult court if they’re neighborhoods with some of the highest chronic unemploy- charged with weapons possession as early as May if approved ment rates in the nation. The Reporter randomly selected the in the Illinois General Assembly. court files for 90 cases—which represents 57 percent of con- It’s a step in the right direction, some politicians say, to victions in 2009—and found: reduce gun violence. But a Chicago Reporter review of felony One in four teens was never clearly identified as having had convictions also raises questions about whether the teens al- a gun. ready going into the adult system are the hardened criminals A gun was recovered in only 46 percent of the cases. who lawmakers intend to get off the streets. The Reporter’s One of the gun cases resulted in death. In all, 11 victims had analysis shows that many youth charged in gun cases are nev- been shot and a combined $1,891 in cash and other items er identified as having had a gun. And in many cases, no gun were stolen.

12 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 Atreyu Spears, 19, lives between his mother’s and sister’s apartments, not sure how his gun conviction from 2009 will impact his future attempts to get an apartment, job or money for college. Photo by J.Geil.

Of the gun cases brought against teens in the adult felony crimes and heading unnecessarily in the adult penal system courts in the past five years, an overwhelming number—87 under harsher state laws. The governor’s recent decision to percent—of those who entered a plea pleaded guilty to the repeal the death penalty over possible wrongful convictions crimes they were charged with. All told, they were sentenced has only amplified concerns that the state’s judicial system is to more than 4,606 years behind bars, most of which will like- flawed. Still, while a majority of states across the nation have ly be served in adult prisons. Of the defendants, 80 percent seen their prison populations begin to decline, Illinois added were black, and nearly half lived in nine contiguous ZIP codes another 3,000 inmates to its facilities just this year, bringing that span predominantly black communities on the city’s Far the state’s prison population to nearly 49,000 as of March. South Side, including Chatham, Englewood, Roseland and The Reporter analysis found that the number of 15-, 16- and Washington Heights. 17-year-olds tried in Cook County’s adult court system on Some lawyers, lawmakers and juvenile justice advocates gun charges has steadily increased since 2006, on average by question whether these teens are being overcharged for their 24 percent each year, except 2009.

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 13 COVER STORY Gun Crimes

The neighborhood where 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue intersects was recently said to be the epicenter of violent crime in Chicago. Photo by Jason Reblando.

“For a lot of these kids, they’re getting into the system The midpoint between their places is the intersection of earlier and earlier,” said Rita Fry, a former Chicago prosecutor 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, known as a rough who went on to oversee the public defender’s office and now block even by the toughest of standards. Last year, the Chi- serves on the Chicago Police Board. “If they keep going into cago Sun-Times described the neighborhood as the epicenter the system, chances are they’re going to hit a case that’s going of violent crime in Chicago. Police brass agreed. They called it to keep them there.” Chicago’s “worst” and outlined plans to root out violence in But spates of street crime in recent years have lawmakers the gritty, yet bustling stretch of liquor stores and fast-food and politicians taking a hard stance on gun crime—particular- joints that hugs the western edge of Chatham. Police vowed to ly people like outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley, Cook County crack down on the exact crimes that have landed the largest State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, state Rep. Michael Zalewksi growing number of minors in the adult system: gun posses- and officials at the Chicago Police Department. sion, armed robberies, carjacking and aggravated batteries. “Chicago has a gun violence problem, and cops and kids Few have worked with as many of those young offenders as are dying,” said Zalewski, a former Cook County prosecutor Karlin Guest, a guy known affectionately as “Coach Karl.” He’s whose district spans Chicago’s Southwest Side and neigh- a plain-spoken, basketball coach and security guard at Vivian boring suburbs. Zalewski is the chief sponsor of HB2067, the Summers, an alternative school in Roseland that accepts trou- piece of legislation that, if approved this spring, would auto- bled teens diverted from neighborhood schools. The school matically transfer 15- and 16-year-olds charged with gun pos- draws most of its students from the Far South Side, an area session within 1,000 feet of a school or park into the adult carrying a troubling distinction: It has the most minors con- courts. Proponents of the measure say that without additional victed of gun felonies, according to the Reporter’s analysis. tough-on-crime laws, Chicago police won’t be able to get a Guest and Spears first crossed paths in 2008—roughly one handle on street violence. “I don’t deny that that’s harsh, but year before Spears’ felony arrest. The lanky teen had a growing it’s also a deterrent,” he added. collection of trophies from the sport even before trying out for Vivian Summer’s basketball team. He made the team with ease hen Spears puts his two forearms together, he has and played first-string point guard. He held the spot by keep- a tattoo inked in a deep black that reads “82nd” and ing up his grades and staying out of trouble with his teachers. W“Maryland.” At 19, he now chalks up the tattoos to “You have a lot of kids who come to our school who aren’t a youthful mistake. hard. They just get caught in the wrong place at the wrong He has spent most of his life living between his mom’s place time,” Guest said. Spears may or may not have been one of at 82nd and Maryland streets and his eldest sister’s apart- them. But Guest says run-ins with the police aren’t always the ment a few blocks away on South Eberhart Street. The family most accurate way to decide. “It’s normal that the police are has grown since Spears had his son. He and the curly-headed picking [young people] up all the time,” he said. “But with all 8-month-old “Trey-Trey,” his 24-year-old girlfriend and her the crime on the streets how can you blame them?” 1-year-old daughter crash between the two apartments. Spears had already been on the beat cops’ radar. He was

14 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 Increase in youth gun cases Concentrated cases More youth are going into the adult felony court at much younger ages. Nearly half of all teens facing gun charges in adult felony court were from just nine contiguous ZIP codes on the city’s Far South Side. 35015-, 16- and 17-year-olds sent to adult court The ZIP codes span predominantly black communities, including Chatham, Englewood, Roseland and Washington Heights. 300 289

250 ZIP codes with most youth gun cases 208 200 1. 60628 — 102 cases 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2. 60619 — 73 cases Source: Circuit Court of Cook County 3. 60636 — 64 cases 4. 60620 — 63 cases African-American 5. 60629 — 60 cases youth are charged 6. 60637 — 56 cases Case outcomes with more gun cases 7. 60617 — 55 cases than all other racial An overwhelming number of 15-, 16- and 17-year- groups combined. 8. 60621 — 46 cases olds charged in gun cases plead guilty and are Among the 1,367 9. 60609 — 42 cases sentenced to prison. Most of them are black. cases, black teens Outcomes for youth convicted of gun crimes accounted for 80 9 percent from 2006 Sentencing to 2010. 6 Prison 617 5 3 8 Youth gun cases by race Probation 152 Community service 27 6% White 4 2 13% Latino 80% Conditional discharge 4 Black 7 Court supervision 1 1 Average prison sentence 7.5 years

Note: Numbers do not add up to 100 percent because of rounding. The race of the defendent in three cases was unknown. Reasons for conviction Most of the 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds with gun- related cases were charged with gun possession, Where’s the gun? though it’s unclear from police reports whether Police never recovered a gun in nearly half of the gun convictions some of them actually had a gun. against 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds in 2009. Whether a gun was Tally of gun cases 41% retrieved was unclear in 13 percent of the cases. Conviction # Cases One in four teens was convicted of a gun crime though they were Gun possession 331 never clearly implicated in police reports as having possessed a gun. 25% Armed robbery 241 Methodology Aggravated battery 74 Carjacking 49 The Chicago Reporter obtained court records from the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court for 15-, 16- and 17-year-old defendants who faced charges Murder 48 in the Cook County court system between Jan. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2010. Aggravated discharge firearm 27 The records included 4,036 felony cases and the corresponding information Attempted murder 19 on those cases before felony charges were approved. Those records included case numbers, charges by statute and description, the date the case was Aggravated criminal sexual assault 3 opened, whether defendants were represented by public or private attorneys, Armed home invasion 3 a plea, verdict and sentence. Personal information included name, date of birth, address, ZIP code and race. A plea was recorded in 85 percent of the Attempted armed robbery 3 cases. A sentence was recorded in 63 percent of the cases. The Reporter Defacing gun 2 also obtained court files, which included police reports, court transcripts, and Armed kidnapping 1 docket information for 90 of the 161 gun convictions recorded in 2009.

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 15 COVER STORY Gun Crimes

If Spears challenged the case, the discovery phase alone would have pushed his next court hearing back another 45 days, she said. And the case would likely drag out for months after that. Coleman visited him during his time in lockup but was barred from his pre-hearing meetings with his attorney— while 17-year-olds are minors in most instances of the law, according to his crime, he was an adult. Under adult jurisdiction, minors are responsible for sealing their own fate, even when it comes to waiving their Miranda rights and making statements during interrogations. As Spears prepared to make the most important decision of his life, he replayed the last conversation with his mother in his head. Spears held his nose and pleaded guilty.

llinois has some of the strictest accountability laws in the nation, and defendants are often culpable just for being Iconnected with a crime. Elizabeth Clarke, director of Illinois’ Juvenile Justice Ini- tiatives, questions whether too many teens are facing charges that don’t match their crimes, particularly when they’re swept up in the adult courts. “We are one of the only states with transfers without some sort of safety valve, some protection against overcharging,” Clarke said. The Reporter review of Cook County court records found that even after a teen was charged, additional charges were routinely added once the teen got bumped up to adult court. That happened in 67 percent of gun cases, the analysis found. “The state’s attorneys always say they don’t overcharge,” Fry said. “But they do … so there’s some room to bargain.” Once in the adult courts, the odds are that they’ll plead guilty to at least one felony charge, the Reporter found. With nearly nine out of 10 youth pleading guilty to gun crimes in State Rep. Michael Zalewski is pushing a bill that, if approved this the past five years, witnesses were never brought to the stand. spring, would automatically transfer 15- and 16-year-olds charged with There were no police testimonies. The teens signed off on gun possession into the adult courts. Photo by Ivy Brog. agreements hammered out by attorneys. “Sometimes you’re thinking, ‘God, I wish they would go to charged in four misdemeanor cases in less than three months trial,’” Fry added. If defendants were guaranteed a bench trial leading up to his gun arrest. In one case, he was charged with within 150 days, she predicts that Cook County courts would stealing candy from a corner store. Weeks later, he was arrest- see far more cases challenged. “But the kid who’s spent months ed for gang loitering. After that, simple assault. And finally, in the lockup is thinking, ‘OK, I’ll plead and I can go home.’” mob action. Spears pleaded guilty to the latter case and was States across the nation are rethinking policies that au- sentenced to six months of court supervision. The other three tomatically transfer minors into adult courts, in large part cases were tossed out. because of new scientific research on adolescent brain devel- In each case, Spears says that he was out clowning around opment that suggests they might be less likely to reoffend if with friends. “My momma would tell me to come in,” he says they were punished in the better-resourced juvenile system. A today, juggling three babies at a dimly lit kitchen table at his gubernatorial task force in Illinois is weighing that research as eldest sister’s apartment. “I wouldn’t listen to her back then,” it decides whether to recommend pushing 17-year-olds back he says with a shallow exhale, “I was without a care in the into the state’s juvenile justice system. world.” Lawmakers, however, remain divided. Zalewski’s bill has the That was before he was charged in a gun case. His fam- potential to send the largest number of teens into the adult ily couldn’t scrounge up the $10,000 to bail him out of jail. courts since Illinois legislators struck down a law in 2005 that And neither Spears nor his mother liked the idea of the 5-foot, automatically transferred 15- and 16-year-olds into the adult 8-inch teen who weighed about 130 lbs. waiting out a trial in system for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school or public the cell he shared with a 43-year-old. housing. Spears’ mom, Demetrius Coleman, told him to plead guilty. Daley’s office has been driving Zalewski’s proposed legisla- At 53, she’d seen enough to know her son’s case was weak. tion forward. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Two months earlier, Marlon beat his gun charge. The case fell the Chicago Police Department have also voiced support for apart because of conflicting police testimony in court. Cole- the bill. In March, the measure passed the House Judiciary II- man told Atreyu to take whatever deal that would get him out Criminal Law Committee, which is composed largely of law- of the lockup the quickest. “It takes too long to fight a case,” makers who are former prosecutors. Among the seven com- said Coleman, who raises her voice in agitation as she thinks mittee members, state Rep. Connie Howard of Chicago was the back on the advice. “He was 17. He’s not used to fighting for only lawmaker who opposed the bill. State Rep. Esther Golar, his life. That’s crazy. He’s a kid.” Continued on page 18

16 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 BEST PRACTICES

Twins Domonique and Monique Ratcliff, 17, were waiting at a bus stop after school when gun shots sprayed from a passing car. Photo by Jason Reblando. Trigger trauma Center helps to fill void for youth who experience hardship

By Samantha Winslow Avenue. “I could feel the bullets brush- Stolbach works mostly with chil- ing past me,” she said. dren under the age of 12 at the hospital, All three girls experienced the physi- which is based in an area of the city he t was just another afternoon for cal and emotional impact of witnessing calls a “trauma desert,” an area lacking Domonique and Monique Ratcliff violence on Chicago’s streets: the cry- adequate medical facilities. In the case in March as they left Reavis Ele- ing, nausea and headaches, they said. of adolescents, he says, “They’re prob- mentary school. The twin 17-year- Exposure to guns and gun violence is ably not getting care.” oldI high school juniors had spent the common for adolescents in some of Chi- Programs to work through the trauma afternoon mentoring young children in cago’s violence-plagued neighborhoods and to address the roots of violence are an after-school program. on the South and West sides. What’s lacking, particularly for teens. One in They headed for the bus stop on not common is the number of facilities four children experience some sort of 49th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, available to help the youth cope. trauma before they reach adulthood, ac- outside of the school, when gunshots “If there aren’t a lot of resources cording to a report from the Journal of sprayed out of the window of a passing people don’t have a lot of choices,” said the American Academy of Child and Ado- car. The two ducked and began running Brad Stolbach, a clinical psychologist lescent Psychiatry. But not all exposure to toward their home a mile away. at La Rabida Children’s Hospital on the trauma leads to a mental illness or dis- Daria Siler is also 17 and a mentor, as city’s South Side. To help youth, work- order, said Gene Griffin of Northwest- well as participant, in the same program. ers use what’s called a trauma-focused ern University’s Mental Health Services In February she was caught in the cross- approach, where clinicians treat the un- and Policy Program. fire of a drive-by shooting just one block derlying issue or event that caused the Twenty percent of adolescents have from a different area where the Ratcliff trauma, and the other factors in a child’s a diagnosable mental disorder, but 70 sisters were shot at, this time at a bus life that helped shape the reaction to the percent of those young people do not stop on 51st Street and Cottage Grove trauma. get the care they need, according to a re-

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 17 COVER STORY Best Practices

port from the National Center for Chil- Abdul-Adil and Liza Suarez, who is right away might have prevented a psy- dren in Poverty. also a director at the center, take an in- chiatric disorder. The Bronzeville teens At least one area organization is try- novative approach toward working with get weekly counseling services to help ing to address this on Chicago’s West children in a high-risk community—a them cope with traumatic experiences Side. The Urban Youth Trauma Center, significant number of whom are trau- through Stand Up! Help Out!, a program which is part of the University of Illinois matized repeatedly by gun violence. The linked to Loyola University Chicago and at Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry, clinic also uses a trauma-focused ap- its School of Social Work. In the pro- has expanded its mental health services proach to their interventions with chil- gram, the girls also have the opportunity after receiving $1.8 million in additional dren, or what Abdul-Adil calls “an eco- to mentor younger students. funding in 2009 from the federal gov- logical approach,” to understanding the Siler said she believes she can chan- ernment. Between 2003 and 2007, the world in which the adolescents live. nel her negative experiences into some- center served about 600 clients aged 6 “We don’t dismiss the surrounding thing positive—helping other children. to 16. With the additional funding, the ecology,” Abdul-Adil said of his effort She organized a violence prevention center is training other providers in its to understand how teenagers’ friends, workshop at her high school, King Col- approach and has increased its on-site family and teachers influence their life lege Prep. Gun violence “shouldn’t be a capacity to see up to 30 adolescent-aged and decisions either positively or nega- part of everyday life,” she said. “That’s patients at a time instead of smaller tively. This helps teens connect with not something you should get used to.” groups of 20. Ninety-five percent of the young adults, helps them learn to cope The teens from Stand Up! Help Out! program recipients are low income and and change their behavior. Ultimately, do what they can to stay out of harm’s from communities of color. he hopes that the program can prevent way, such as not hanging out in their The program’s goal is to help chil- future violence. neighborhoods unless they are going to dren with existing psychiatric disorders Abdul-Adil said the approach is and from school. They prefer to be at and prevent problems from escalating, working. “A vast majority if given oppor- their friends’ houses or visiting relatives, said Jaleel Abdul-Adil, one of the cen- tunities will respond positively,” he said. like the Ratcliffs’ great grandmother. ter’s directors. Teens are referred to the For an adolescent this would be in ad- Even when children and parents are vigi- center by schools, social workers or par- dition to learning to manage emotions, lant about safety, gun violence is almost ents. What a teacher or authority figure doing well in school, both academically impossible to avoid. As Rachel Kibble- might see as aggressive, explosive or and socially, and participating—even smith, the program director of Stand Up! disrespectful actions could actually be a excelling—in mainstream community Help Out! puts it, “It’s a chronic thing.” child’s way of coping with witnessing or activities, such as athletics, creative arts But she’s optimistic that the youth can being part of gun violence or other so- and community service. overcome their situations. “Kids have a cial problems. For Siler and the Ratcliffs, getting help high level of resilience,” she added. n

GUNS Continued from page 16 to do one of two things: sink or swim.” who holds a second public job though Chicago’s community Spears talks tepidly about enrolling in business classes at policing program, stepped out of the room during the roll call. Kennedy King College. His first career choice is still to be a It’s unclear how many of the 268 Cook County teens professional basketball player. But his backup plan is to open charged with gun possession in 2009 were arrested within a barbershop. For that, he figures he’ll need some education. 1,000 feet of a school or park because juvenile court records Trying to figure out how to pay for classes may be his first are sealed. But based on the Reporter’s analysis of 2009 con- obstacle. victions, nearly half—or 13 out of 27—of 17-year-olds who In the meantime, Spears has had a lot of time on his hands, had gun possession cases opened against them fell within the and he continues to butt heads with local police. Since his re- 1,000-foot range. lease, he has been booked on two misdemeanor offenses. The Enhancing penalties has made it easier to keep young of- most recent case was opened this spring. His mom peeled fenders off the streets. But state Sen. Annazette Collins, who $400 off her income tax return and gave it to the Spears be- was sworn into her Senate seat in mid-March and who sat on cause she was too light on cash last year to give him a birth- the House Judiciary II Committee last year, said that drag- day or Christmas gift. The first thing he bought was a teddy ging more young men unnecessarily into the adult courts will bear, a balloon and a card for his mom. He left the gifts at her only further destabilize her district, which includes a rough front door and later that day was questioned by police. They stretch of Chicago’s West Side that’s already home to some of didn’t buy the story that his mom gave him the $300 he had the highest ex-offender rates in Illinois. stuffed in his pocket; he was charged with unlawful solicita- “Yes, we have a problem with gun violence,” Collins said. tion of business. “But if you get an [adult] criminal record at 15, you don’t have Despite the charges, Spears is scheduled to get off proba- a right to get a job, to get financial aid, to rent an apartment,” tion May 3. “Keep your nose clean,” a judge warned him during she says. “There are so many consequences for the rest of a recent probation hearing. “You’re in the home stretch.” your life.” This story was made possible, in part, by a grant from the John Jay College fter sitting in jail for 69 days, on June 16, 2009, Spears Center on Media, Crime and Justice (CMCJ). The statements made and was sentenced to probation for unlawful gun posses- views expressed are solely the responsibility of The Chicago Reporter. sion. He has yet to test what the ensuing felony record A Contributing: Philip Jacobsen, Samantha Winslow, Allison Griner and will mean for his future. His mom and sister are both keeping rooms for him, so he has had no need to try and test the waters Louis McGill. by renting an apartment. But his mom’s patience is wearing thin. “I’ve got to push him out,” Coleman said. “And he’s going [email protected]

18 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 INVESTIGATION Bankruptcy

Unlucky 13 An increasing number of people are turning to bankruptcy for a fresh start, but many are leaving themselves susceptible to more debt by opting for a Chapter 13 protection, which has a high failure rate.

By Megan Cottrell moting community reinvestment and Power Points economic development, said a large number of Chapter 13 filings in some reeman Hess sits at the dining In 2010, more than 117,360 bank- communities is alarming. room table in his brick bungalow ruptcy cases were filed in Cook “The concern is that people in Af- in Roseland on Chicago’s South County. The Chicago Reporter found: rican-American communities might Side. At 78, his gray hair is thin The number of bankruptcy be inappropriately being steered into a andF fuzzy, like the coating of a peach, but Chapter 13, when a Chapter 7 would be filings went up by 139 percent his arms are muscular. He hasn’t lost since 2006. more helpful,” Smith said. “We need to the physical strength he acquired from make sure there’s no economic incen- operating a forklift for Cook County for Nearly a third of all bankrupt- tive in place that would make them push 43 years. But in all his years of work, cies were filed under Chapter their clients into a bankruptcy filing that starting off picking cotton in Browns- 13, which has a high failure could hurt them in the long run.” ville, Tenn., and coming to Chicago for rate. In predominantly black O.S. Owen, a financial counselor at better opportunities, he never imagined communities, 10 times as many the Center for Economic Progress, said retirement being so stressful. Chapter 13 bankruptcies were people aren’t getting the relief they need “I manage,” says Hess, his jaw tense. filed as in predominantly white because of a lack of proper financial “But sometimes I just don’t have the communities, accounting for education. He added that all potential money to pay my bills. They are taking 47.9 percent of the cases. bankruptcy filers should be required to it all.” get assistance from a mentor, both be- “They” is a collection of people—his fore and after their filings, to help them lawyers, his creditors and the bankrupt- understand the process and how to bet- cy trustee. Hess filed for bankruptcy two ter manage their finances. years ago, and ever since, he’s been pay- This story was produced in partnership “Bankruptcy is an opportunity to get ing $1,090 a month, the majority of his with the Woodstock Institute, which assistance, a window for a fresh start,” income, to try and get rid of his debt, will publish its study on bankruptcy Owen said. “I think education should be with two more years to go. trends in May. For more information, mandated and required.” With the economic downturn, many visit www.woodstockinst.org. Cook County residents are facing a sim- ugey Lozano says she meets at ilar situation: less money coming in, and least one couple who is consid- more bills than they can handle. And under Chapter 13. Among filers living in Sering bankruptcy each week. As more people, like Hess, are turning to communities where African Americans a financial counselor for the Center for bankruptcy for relief. made up more than 80 percent of the Working Families at the Instituto del But many, particularly those in black population, the rate was much higher, Progreso Latino, she says most people communities, have been filing Chapter with nearly a half of bankruptcies filed have been wrestling with financial prob- 13 bankruptcy, which carries a high risk under Chapter 13. lems for awhile. of failure, leaving themselves vulnerable Nationwide, only 10 percent of Chap- “Most of the time, someone has lost to end up with yet another mountain of ter 13 filers complete their plan and get their job. They have a mortgage,” Lo- debt, instead of a fresh start. a discharge of their debt, according to a zano says. “By the time they come and According to new data supplied to The 2010 study in the Berkley Electronic Jour- see me, they’re very, very delinquent on Chicago Reporter by the Chicago-based nal of Economic Analysis and Policy. their debt. They have lots of past-due Woodstock Institute, nearly a third of all Geoff Smith, vice president of the accounts, many of them in collections.” bankruptcies in Cook County were filed Woodstock Institute, a nonprofit pro- But making the decision to file for

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 19 INVESTIGATION Bankruptcy

Thousands in Cook County are turning to bankruptcy for relief from debt. In 2010, more than 117,360 bankruptcy cases were filed in Cook County, up 139 percent from 2006. Photo by Jason Reblando.

bankruptcy can be stressful. Lozano ruptcy lawyer at the Legal Assistance 7 bankruptcy, people pay for their debt says many people are reluctant, espe- Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. by liquidating their current assets, and cially because of the social stigma of “You have to have money to file,” Yen afterward, their debt is absolved. Each going bankrupt. said. “A lot of people are at the point state allows people to exempt some of “I tell them, ‘At the moment, it’s not where paying a bankruptcy attorney is a their assets from being liquidated—up something that you see yourself doing, luxury that they don’t have right now.” to a certain value in cars, home equity but this might be the best thing you’re For those who do have the money, and personal items. Everything else is going to do. You’re going to start fresh,’” they then have to decide how to file. sold or repossessed, in exchange for their Lozano says. Most bankruptcy filers choose either debts being eliminated. After a Chapter Although bankruptcy is commonly Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 status. Each 7 bankruptcy is completed, people no thought of as financial rock-bottom, the chapter has its own benefits, drawbacks longer owe anything to their creditors. option of filing for bankruptcy often isn’t and legal stipulations, Yen says. “It draws a sharp dividing line be- available to individuals who are strug- Chapter 7, the most common form tween what happened before and what gling the most, says David Yen, a bank- of bankruptcy, is quicker. In a Chapter happens in the future,” Yen says. “Usu-

20 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 they’re able to continue paying for them. with large chins. The signs read, “Solv- For example, people who are behind on ing Financial Problems and Changing their mortgage can have that debt folded Lives through Education, Counseling into their Chapter 13 plan and thereby and the Law,” and more than 40 people keep their house. Chapter 7 filers would have gathered to do just that—to par- only get to keep up to $15,000 in equity ticipate in a “financial healing” seminar in their house and likely have it sold off. advertised in the community. People may also choose Chapter 13 if “I’ve helped thousands of people get they don’t have the money to pay their out of debt and get a fresh start,” Siegel, lawyer and fees upfront as they can be a Chicago-based bankruptcy lawyer, told folded into their repayment plan. A the audience. “I can make the bill collec- Chapter 7 bankruptcy is cheaper overall, tors stop calling, the collection letters but the money has to be paid upfront. stop.” Hess got behind on his bills when he Judging by the nodding, raised hands bought a 2008 Dodge Charger after re- and the occasional “Amen,” Siegel’s mes- tiring. The car payments, coupled with sage was much needed here on Chi- some credit card debt and a Wells Fargo cago’s Far West Side. After explaining loan he took out to repair his roof, was the basics of bankruptcy and offering a more than he could afford to repay. But free consultation, Siegel’s firm gave the when his lawyers told him he’d lose his participants, all African Americans, a house if he filed for Chapter 7 -bank catered dinner and even raffled off a flat- ruptcy, Hess opted for Chapter 13. At screen TV. the time, he also opted to save his car, a The fact that African Americans are move he now regrets. overrepresented in bankruptcy cases— “I should have let the car go,” he says. among Chapter 13 filings, in particular— “But they said they’d take my house. I has been thought to be a product of couldn’t do that.” economic disparities. African-American Thousands like Hess in Cook County families are generally less wealthy than are turning to bankruptcy for relief from their white counterparts, leaving them debt. The data from the Woodstock In- more vulnerable to financial collapse and stitute show that, in 2010, more than more likely to choose Chapter 13 to save 117,360 bankruptcy cases were filed in a house or avoid lump-sum legal fees. Cook County, up 139 percent from 2006. But new research shows this may not Those filings are concentrated in pre- be the case. Bob Lawless, a University of dominantly black communities. Illinois at Urbana-Champaign law pro- In predominantly white communities fessor specializing in bankruptcy law, where the minority population was less found that even when he controlled for than 10 percent, about 1.8 bankruptcy factors like home ownership and income, cases were filed for every 100 people be- African Americans were still twice as tween 2006 and 2010. In communities likely to file for Chapter 13 protection as that are more than 80 percent black, the white people. rate was nearly three times as high—5.2 Lawless is quick to point out that cor- filings per every 100 people. relation between filing choice and race is Woodstock also analyzed what kind not causation. But considering the siz- of bankruptcy people chose—Chapter able failure rates of Chapter 13 plans, 7 or 13—and found that predominantly it may mean black communities aren’t black communities also had more than getting the “fresh start” that bankruptcy 10 times as many Chapter 13 filings as in is supposed to offer, he said. ally, you are not putting any of your fu- predominantly white communities. “It means that they’re getting less ef- ture income toward paying back any of Of the 34,856 bankruptcy cases filed fective legal relief than persons of other your past debts.” by people living in predominately black races,” Lawless said. In Chapter 13, people pay for their communities between 2006 and 2010, Siegel thinks it’s not that lawyers debt out of their future income. People 16,696 were Chapter 13 cases—47.9 per- look at a black client and automatically filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy come up cent. In predominately white communi- steer them toward Chapter 13, but that with an amount of money they can pay ties, only 7,036 bankruptcies were filed certain firms try to steer all their cli- each month toward their debt. They pay in the same time period, and just 1,583, ents toward Chapter 13. Those firms also a set amount each month for three to or 22.5 percent, were Chapter 13 filings. happen to market their services to the five years, and when they complete their black community, where bankruptcy is plan, any remaining debt is discharged. avid Siegel stood at the side of more common. “In a Chapter 13, you’re always com- the room, shifting his feet like “I think these firms, these attorneys ing up with a plan to use some of your Da heavyweight preparing to en- would be trying to convince anybody— future income to reorganize your fi- ter the ring. Three pictures of his face white, black—that [Chapter] 13 is the nances,” Yen says. were displayed on the small stage in the way to go,” Siegel said. “They’re not sin- Unlike Chapter 7, Chapter 13 allows basement of Friendship Baptist church, gling out or targeting blacks. It just so people to keep their assets, as long as set up like a trinity of look-alike deities happens that blacks make up a bigger

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 21 INVESTIGATION Bankruptcy

portion of their clientele.” At the seminar, Siegel warned his audience about unscrupulous attorneys. Seeing red “There are attorneys out there that While Chapter 13 bankruptcies make up about a third of all filings in will put people into a Chapter 13 plan Cook County, they are concentrated in predominantly African-American because they can make more money off communities, where the rate was nearly 48 percent. In all, predominantly of them,” Siegel told his audience. black communities had more than 10 times as many Chapter 13 filings as Siegel said the court-approved flat predominantly white communities. fee for a Chapter 13 is $3,500, while Chapter 7 fees vary but often are much lower. That price difference may make Chapter 13 Debt disparities some law firms push their clients toward < 15% 15% - 24% Bankruptcies occur nearly three Chapter 13, he said. times as often in predominantly 25% - 34% And the Berkley Electronic Journal of African-American communities Economic Analysis and Policy study found 35% - 44% as they do in predominantly another attraction that Chapter 13 plans 45% or more white communities. hold for some firms: Even with the sky- high failure rate, attorneys are able to Bankruptcy per 100 people by collect the majority of their fees. “They might try and convince a per- race of community area son, selling to them by saying, ‘You’re Black 5.2 paying back your creditors, you’re not Latino 1.9 doing a full bankruptcy, you’re not screwing anybody over,’” Siegel said. White 1.8 “But they wind up paying a lot more Countywide 2.9 in fees when they really would benefit more from the fresh start.” Only a third of bankruptcy filers The Reporter looked into 100 bank- in Cook County chose Chapter ruptcy cases in each of three Chicago 13 between 2006 and 2010. communities—Roseland, West Engle- But in predominantly black wood and Ashburn—where the highest communities, Chapter 13 filings numbers of Chapter 13 cases were filed made up nearly half of all cases. and found more than half of the filers Methodology were represented by lawyers from five Percent of Chapter 13 filings by law firms: “Debt Stoppers” by the Law Analyses are based on data from the US race of community area Office of Robert J. Semrad and Associ- Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District ates, the Law Offices of Ernesto Borges, of Illinois that were obtained and analyzed Black 47.9% by the Woodstock Institute, in partnership Gleason and Gleason, “Legal Helpers” White 22.5% by Macey and Aleman, and the Law Of- with The Chicago Reporter. The data include fice of Peter Francis Geraci. Of these five more than 117,360 nonbusiness bank- Latino 21.9% ruptcy cases filed between 2006 and 2010 firms, Debt Stoppers represented 44.4 Countywide 32.8% percent of the cases. in Cook County. Borges, whose firm represented 23 of the cases examined by the Reporter, said he never pressures clients to file Chap- with life past bankruptcy. I make less might have been better options for Mr. ter 13 and always shares all their options. money, but it’s the right thing to do.” Hess to explore rather than filing Chap- “I always try to do what’s best for the Other firms declined to comment on ter 13,” Lawless said. “Whether these client,” he said. “I advertise, ‘Don’t let the record or did not return repeated re- options were a good idea would have someone put you into a Chapter 13 when quests for comment. depended on a number of other fac- you can do a Chapter 7.’” Siegel said a lot of bankruptcy filers tors that don’t necessarily appear in the He said his firm does represent most- don’t get a second opinion—something bankruptcy file, such as Mr. Hess’ goals ly African Americans but not because he thinks is vital to making sure you’re or the existence of a particularly unco- they’re trying to steer clients or rack up getting good advice, whether that means operative creditor.” fees. “I am African American, and I do Chapter 7, Chapter 13 or not filing bank- With two more years left, and $26,160 market myself in the African-American ruptcy at all. left to pay, Hess looks forward to the day community,” Borges said. Hess is one of those who may have when his Chapter 13 plan is over. When Borges said Chapter 13 represents been better off never filing bankruptcy. asked if he ever wonders if something only about 30 percent of his cases, but At the end of his four-year plan, he’ll will happen to prevent him from paying he pointed out that the rate at other have paid more than he initially owed to the entire sum and being free from debt, Chicago law firms is much higher. “The his creditors, with no debt left to dis- he nods. “Yes,” he said. “Dying.” firm that gets the most Chapter 13s, Debt charge. Lawless said Hess may have had Stoppers, has an extraordinary amount of an easier time just settling with the col- Contributing: A.Jay Wagner, Allison Griner and Chapter 13s. It’s inexplicable to me,” he lections agencies. Louis McGill. said. “I try to counsel [clients] to a Chap- “Looking only at the bankruptcy peter 7 if that’s best to help them move on tition and schedules, there certainly [email protected]

22 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 INVESTIGATION Delinquent Lenders

Helen Love bought her Austin home in 1968 when the neighborhood was stable and looked like “heaven,” she says. Today, four of the five vacant properties on her street are owned by lenders and one has been vacant for nearly three years. Photo by Jason Reblando. Despair over disrepair Lenders who owe city fees for not registering Power Points The Chicago Reporter found that vacant properties are still getting city business lenders have short-changed the city at least $2.2 million by not By Angela Caputo Among them is a wood-frame house registering their vacant properties: that hugs the edge of her property. Dur- While city officials are ing two recent summers, the 65-year-old grappling with how to plug elen Love closes her eyes to dragged her swollen, aching knees next the budget, they fail to look remember how West Gladys door to trim back the weeds and grass. to banks for the millions they Street looked when she first Her friend, and fellow retiree, Katherine already owe. moved to her Austin block White, mounted locks on the doors, and withH her husband and children in 1968. Love nailed plywood over the windows. Meanwhile, neglected buildings She thought she had stumbled upon But squatters ripped them down in days are being picked apart by heaven. For decades, she described the and stole anything valuable. squatters and scrappers. homes not just by their brick color or In 2008, the city devised a way to Will the city council approve house number, but by the names of their keep neighborhoods from turning into 3rd Ward Alderman Pat owners. junkyards as the nation’s foreclosure Dowell’s proposal, which would Today, many neighbors have either crisis roared on. The city passed an ordi- force lenders to comply? died or moved away, and thin plywood nance forcing owners of vacant proper- boards are nailed over the windows of ties—mostly financial institutions—to 11 houses within eyeshot of her home. register them with the city. That way, the

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 23 INVESTIGATION Delinquent Lenders

buildings ordinance in the spring of 2008. The law set some standards for securing empty houses. Under the measure, property owners are required to register properties within 30 days of be- coming vacant. The registration comes with a $250 fee, which has to be renewed and paid every six months. Liability insurance is also required. And when buildings are in violation, owners must bring the properties up to code, replace plywood with secure doors and windows or install electronic security systems. But the city has been lax on enforcement. Nearly 5,900 bank-owned single-family homes have never been registered—that’s more than half of the city’s vacant homes, not including condominiums or town homes that have likely been vacant at least once since April 2008. The biggest violators In January, the drug house next door to Helen Love’s house was razed. Neighbors gathered to are a handful of major lenders, accord- watch it come down. Photo by Jason Reblando. ing to the analysis of property transfer, city and bank-owned property data. city could inspect the properties to make ing work at O’Hare International Air- US Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of sure they weren’t falling into disrepair. port, a Bloomberg investigation found. America are among the top lenders with But an analysis by The Chicago Re- The Reporter found that nearly 76 per- outstanding fees. porter found that many financial insti- cent of Bank of America’s single-family Combined, 10 lenders throughout the tutions aren’t registering the properties. properties were not registered, meaning entire city owe $1.4 million, roughly 66 The Reporter analyzed records of 11,500 the financial institution owed at least percent of all lender delinquencies. single-family properties that have been $103,000 to the city. “It’s like being a But city officials say they aren’t let- reclaimed by lenders since 2008 and scofflaw,” said 3rd Ward Alderman Pat ting the banks slide. The city issued 996 have likely been vacant since that time. Dowell, from the city’s South Side. “In- citations to all property owners failing to Our analysis found: dividual scofflaws that don’t pay taxes register vacant properties last year. And At least 50 percent of these bank- or parking tickets can’t do business the owners of more than 1,700 buildings owned homes were never registered. with the city. Banks should be treated were also hauled into housing court, The city lost at least $2.2 million in the same way.” Monocchio said. How many of those revenue from fees lenders skirted by Lenders dispute they’re responsible citations or cases were directed at lend- not registering the homes; just about for paying some of the fees because they ers is not known because the city isn’t one-third of all bank-owned proper- say they don’t own all of the properties. tracking them individually. ties. JPMorgan Chase, for example, says that In sheer numbers, Love’s Austin com- A handful of lenders are responsible while it may have been listed as the note- munity isn’t the worst hit when it comes for not paying the bulk of what’s holder on hundreds of mortgage deeds, to vacancies. It ranks fourth in Chicago owed. in many cases the bank is merely hired for vacant residential properties, accord- When lenders don’t register their by the owner as a servicer—an entity ing to the U.S. Department of Housing properties, taxpayers lose out on mil- hired to maintain the property. “It’s our and Urban Development. lions in revenue from fees but also shoul- policy to register homes with the city if The community hit hardest in the der the cost to secure the properties. In we become the owner,” said spokesman sheer number of vacancies is South the past year, the city’s buildings depart- Tom Kelly. Shore; Riverdale properties stayed va- ment has spent roughly $13 million in Meanwhile, US Bank—which is cant the longest, according to an analy- taxpayers’ dollars to board up and knock named as the trustee on many of the sis of HUD data. By 2010, the homes in down vacant buildings that had been properties analyzed—says that it’s up to Riverdale were sitting vacant for an aver- foreclosed on, said Richard Monocchio, the servicers to register properties. “For age of 3.3 years as of the third quarter, up the city’s buildings department commis- trust-owned properties the servicer 13.8 percent from 2.9 years at the same sioner. With thousands more cases still of the mortgage loan is responsible for time in 2009. Englewood, Fuller Park tied up in court, the number of vacant registering the properties in accordance and Avondale saw the largest growth in properties could grow. with applicable city ordinances,” said vacancy rates, as well. By contrast, the And yet, banks that are lenders have spokeswoman Lisa Clark in an email. By Near South Side community, which en- continued to receive city business, a her count, US Bank only has 30 “corpo- circles the South end of the Loop, had point of contention for some officials. rate-owned properties” on its books. the lowest average—six months—in the In a single bond deal in 2010, Bank of Bank of America says that its policy is third quarter of 2010. America Corp. collected $5.3 million in to “immediately register a vacant prop- The more that time passes, the underwriting fees from the city when it erty once it takes title after the judicial harder it is to refurbish properties, said structured a $1 billion issue to finance sale is completed.” Geoff Smith, senior vice president with bonds to cover capital projects, includ- The city first adopted the vacant the nonprofit Woodstock Institute, a re-

24 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2011 search organization that specializes in maintains that it has not been shelved. mied the bathtub out of the first-floor housing policy. “You’ve got places that Back on Love’s street, four of the five bathroom of the house next door. are so devastated by the foreclosure vacant, single-family homes are cur- In some of the beleaguered buildings, crisis that you don’t know what to do rently owned by lenders, and one has squatters are the only signs of life. And next,” Smith said. been vacant and unregistered for nearly they’ve grown increasingly comfortable And the problem could get worse. three years, the Reporter found. Two under the absence of the owners. A man In 2010, there were 23,364 foreclosure of those houses are currently on the swung by Love’s house one day looking filings in Chicago, many of which are market, but they’ve lost so much value for an extension cord to run electricity likely pending in the courts, according to that it’s not clear who would buy them, from her house, through the gangway Woodstock. neighbors say. and into the vacant house next door. For those properties that have already “We have blocks that are empty,” said “I said, ‘Man, I don’t supply nobody worked their way through the court sys- Elce Redmond, a community organizer with electricity,’” Love said with a dry tem, the trail of property transactions with the nonprofit South Austin Coali- chuckle. In a neighborly gesture, though, is tough to follow, making it difficult to tion. Redmond makes the rounds each she let him warm a bowl of pinto beans determine who’s responsible for vacant week mentally mapping out the neigh- in her microwave instead. properties. Banks, one of the many types borhood’s vacant buildings, taking note In January, the house that sat next of lenders, bought many of the mortgages of the growing number that are buckling to Love’s house was razed by the city. from companies that initiated subprime under neglect. People in the neighborhood gathered loans. In many cases, banks rely on ser- The scavengers on Gladys Street have to watch it come down. Love breathed vicers, which are responsible for tending stripped anything from the buildings a sigh of relief. She wanted to see the to the repossessed properties. that might fetch a dollar. They ripped building demolished, “before I see it … But as the Reporter’s analysis shows, through the drywall of the two-story do some damage to mine.” that’s not happening. “It’s easy for banks house just to the east of Love’s house, to hold properties because it’s not ex- fishing for pipes that could be sold at Contributing: Samantha Winslow and Philip pensive,” says Adam Gross, a lawyer with the scrap yard. Radiators disappeared. Jacobson. the nonprofit Business People and Pro- Fences that once ringed backyards have fessionals for the Public Interest. “And been clipped down. Someone even jim- [email protected] they can choose not to maintain them because [the consequence] is not terri- bly costly.” Fines to lenders can reach up to $2,500 per offense, but the city usu- Lenders in default to city ally collects only after hauling a property Lenders owe the city millions in unpaid registration fees for foreclosed properties, owner into court. money that could be spent plugging holes in the city’s $654 million budget Alderman Dowell has been trying to deficit. Under one alderman’s proposal, these lenders would owe even more. enforce accountability by attempting to amend the city’s registration require- Lender Unregistered Fees owed Under Dowell ments. She wants to make it less at- properties amendment tractive for lenders to indefinitely keep large numbers of vacant properties in Deutsche Bank 793 $314,250 $1.6 million their portfolios. Under Dowell’s pro- US Bank 757 $274,250 $1.4 million posal, companies that hold the notes on Fannie Mae 336 $142,000 $710,000 five or more vacant buildings would see their registration fees jump from $250 Wells Fargo/Wachovia 317 $121,750 $608,750 to $1,250 per property. By the Reporter’s HSBC 321 $115,250 $576,250 count, lenders who are delinquent for at least five single-family homes would Freddie Mac 260 $104,750 $523,750 currently owe the city at least $9.9 mil- Bank of NY 291 $104,500 $522,500 lion if the amendment were already on Bank of America/LaSalle/Countrywide 255 $103,000 $515,000 the books. Fines for failing to comply with the stricter registration require- HUD 162 $85,750 $428,750 ments could net millions more. JPMorgan Chase/Washington Mutual 217 $80,250 $401,250 Behind the scenes, the Daley ad- ministration hasn’t exactly lined up as TOTAL 5,870 $2.2 million $9.9 million a fervent supporter of Dowell’s rewrite, Sources: Cook County Recorder of Deeds, City of Chicago, RealtyTrac which initially came before the council in July. City lawyers have raised internal questions over whether a key provision Methodology in the ordinance—which would make The Chicago Reporter analyzed foreclosure data collected between April 1, lenders, including banks, culpable for 2008, and Dec. 31, 2010 by RealtyTrac. The Reporter found 11,500 single- maintenance from the time the property family properties that have been reclaimed by lenders and have likely been becomes vacant—would hold up to a le- vacant. The Reporter used property transfer data compiled by the Cook County gal challenge. Mayor-elect Rahm Eman- Recorder of Deeds to determine which properties remained in lenders’ posses- uel declined to comment for the story. sion and matched them with the City of Chicago’s registry of vacant properties. Dowell’s measure has been held in committee since last summer, but she

WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 25 INVESTIGATION Best Practices Housing accountability State of New Jersey makes banks liable for all vacant properties

By Philip Jacobson cording to Adam Gross, director of the “These laws have gone a long way to- regional affordable housing initiative at ward giving municipalities a set of tools Business and Professional People for the with which to combat foreclosures,” said t’s not uncommon for homeown- Public Interest, a public interest law and Valerie Jackson, director of the planning ers to fall behind on their mortgage policy center in Chicago. and development department at the City payments, forcing banks to initiate States across the country are consid- of Orange Township. lengthy foreclosure proceedings. ering state-level measures that would These New Jersey ordinances were IIn many cases, the homeowner has address the issue of vacant houses, but enacted after the Abandoned Property long since moved out, leaving behind a they vary, said Kermit Lind, a law pro- Rehabilitation Act of 2004, which ex- vacant home with no one to maintain it, fessor at Cleveland State University. panded municipal powers for dealing and the home falls into disrepair. Still, holding lenders responsible for with abandoned property and sped up So, on whom does accountability fall? vacant houses on which they are fore- the foreclosure process. In theory, it’s the homeowner. But closing is something that would work The idea behind the newer ordinanc- more often than not it’s impractical for anywhere, said Diane Sterner, executive es is to provide a disincentive for banks the municipality to track down a hom- director of the Housing and Community to let properties sit vacant for long pe- eowner who has abandoned a property. Development Network of New Jersey, riods, said Wayne Meyer, the former The bank isn’t off the hook but might a statewide association of housing and housing director for HANDS Inc., a not be responsible until they formally community development organizations. nonprofit that carries out neighborhood reclaim the property. “We look at other states for ideas, revitalization efforts in Orange and East Scenarios like this are nothing new. and we steal from them, and they steal Orange, New Jersey. But now, with the foreclosure crisis from us,” Sterner said. The state’s municipalities are still spawning more vacancies, these occur- Anyone who advocates holding lend- adjusting to the new laws, Sterner said. rences are more frequent, requiring com- ers accountable for maintaining vacant Some of the smaller ones are doing re- munities nationwide to tackle a problem houses, Lind said, should keep in mind ally well, while it has been more chal- that public policy never addressed. “The that occupants facing foreclosure are lenging for larger cities such as Camden laws were for court proceedings, not not always responsible people. For ex- and Newark, where the volume of fore- for who is responsible,” said Harold Si- ample, some might trash the place on closures is greater, she added. In that re- mon, executive director of the National the way out, he said, and homeowners gard, the structure of municipal govern- Housing Institute, a New Jersey-based are responsible for their property, even ments is also a factor, Mallach said. In a nonprofit that examines issues related if the lender is the owner. place like Orange, planning, community to the country’s housing crisis. Despite that, Lind still thinks the development and inspections are all part New Jersey has the nation’s ninth- New Jersey law and the law on the table of one department, but in bigger cities highest percentage of loans entering the in Illinois are good ideas. such as Camden, that is not the case. foreclosure process during the fourth The New Jersey law has similarities to Some municipalities have set up pub- quarter of 2010. State legislators have local ordinances that have gone into ef- lic databases of vacant properties online responded with the Creditor Respon- fect across the country over the past few or have created partnerships with com- sibility Law. Signed into law in 2008 years. The trend started in Chula Vista, munity groups or universities to help and amended in January 2010, the law Calif., in 2008 and has since spread to track vacancies, Sterner said. makes lenders responsible for maintain- other cities, according to Alan Mallach, In Irvington, the legislation has helped ing properties that have become aban- a senior fellow at the National Housing the city outpace foreclosures. About six doned during the foreclosure process. If Institute. years ago, there were roughly 750 va- code violations or nuisance conditions In New Jersey, two municipalities have cant foreclosed properties in bad shape, go unaddressed and the city makes re- also passed Vacant Property Registra- Bradley said. Now there are about 400, pairs itself, the law allows the city to put tion Ordinances, which work in tandem he said. There have been no cases where a lien on the property and go after the with the state law. Lenders must notify the city has had to take lenders to court, lender’s assets to obtain repayment as if municipalities when they foreclose on Bradley said, but the legislation has had the lender were the title holder. a house. But the ordinances—effective an impact. The vast majority of the time New Jersey is the first state in the na- in the City of Orange and Irvington lenders have paid the fees, he added. tion to have such a law. In Illinois, efforts townships—beef up that provision by Though some say that the laws are a to pass a similar law failed two years requiring lenders to pay an annual fee. significant step forward, advocates do ago, but now another bill is on the table. The revenue is used to administer the not see them as a panacea. Sterner said House Bill 1109 would hold responsible ordinance and help defray the costs of she would like to see the vacant prop- beneficiaries, which could mean lenders, servicing vacant properties. erty registration ordinance enacted on a banks or trustees of mortgage-backed Both ordinances were passed last state level and an amendment that would securities, for maintaining vacant prop- year, and there are efforts to pass similar make it easier to contact the lenders of erties on which they are foreclosing or ordinances in other New Jersey munici- vacant properties. “It’s not a free lunch even before they initiate foreclosure, ac- palities, such as Newark. anymore,” Bradley said. n

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PARTING SHOT Cabrini-Green

March 30, 2011 A bystander snaps a photo as the last high-rise at Cabrini-Green is demolished. Photo by J.Geil.