CHICAGO - Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office notified the Illinois public that her office is granting funds to legal firms for a program assist troubled Illinois homeowners. The funds come from the $25 billion national lawsuit settlement with mortgage providers found to have used "robo-signing" to speed up foreclosure procedures.
Illinois Review wrote about the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation's grant issued last Friday, and the fact that several on the firm's board of directors were generous donors to Illinois Democrats. Attorney General Lisa Madigan's father, Michael Madigan, heads the Illinois Democratic Party.
However, funds are not only going to legal firms, they're also going directly to homeowners who've suffered financial loss during Illinois' housing downturn. Thursday in a press release, the attorney general's office said an independent monitor is overseeing the distribution:
[An] independent monitor was appointed to oversee compliance with the terms of the settlement reached with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Bank, formerly GMAC. The monitor’s report covers compliance activities from March 1 to June 30, 2012, and provides some indication that Illinois borrowers are beginning to receive relief under the settlement.
And over 5000 Illinois consumers have received relief since March -
In the first few months of the settlement’s implementation, 5,268 Illinois consumers have already received more than $357 million in relief, which equates to an average of $67,817 in direct assistance per borrower, in the form of principal reductions and refinancing for underwater loans. In an analysis of the monitor’s first report, the Attorney General’s office determined that Illinois ranks among the top five states for the amount of relief directed to homeowners, and the state ranks fourth in the total number of borrowers who’ve received assistance.
Attorney General Madigan also commented in Thursday's release:
“I am cautiously encouraged by the initial progress reported by the independent monitor. In just a few months since we brokered this settlement, we’re starting to see real results for Illinois families. Of course, there is still much work to be done to help homeowners in need. I will continue to monitor the banks’ efforts to fulfill their obligations under this settlement, as my office continues its work to hold banks and other financial institutions accountable for the destruction they’ve caused in our communities.”
The $20 million to be distributed to Illinois legal firms will be supplemented by an additional $1 Billion, most of which should be restored to homeowners that suffered loss due to the mortgage providers' faulty tactics.
