News articles on CCLBA

By Mary Ellen Podmolik "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are embarking on an ambitious pilot program designed to remove thousands of vacant, foreclosed homes from their books and repair neighborhoods throughout Chicago and suburban Cook County. The two agencies, which own more foreclosed properties than anyone else, are expected to announce Wednesday they will offer qualified nonprofit groups and their developers an option to buy foreclosures, often at a discount, before the properties are publicly listed for sale. The program will initially include about 3,800 single-family homes, condominiums and two- to four-flats but that number will fluctuate as Fannie and [...]

With a unanimous vote of the Cook County Land Bank Board and strong support of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the CCLBA Board named Mr. Robert Rose as Executive Director at yesterday’s monthly board meeting. Rob comes to the Cook County Land Bank from the Chicago Community Loan Fund where he served as Chief Operating Officer and has strong background in finance, underwriting and community development. “I am not only excited, but also passionate about the opportunity to have an impact in this City and County. The Cook County Land Bank has a real opportunity to transform how foreclosures [...]

By Mary Ellen Podmolik More than 700 properties that have languished unused, some for almost two decades, may be grabbed by the Cook County Land Bank Authority to make them more attractive to developers. The parcels — which are scattered around the county and include land zoned for residential, commercial and industrial use as well as vacant homes — are among 23,000 properties that have been offered for sale through the county’s scavenger tax sale, with no takers for at least two years. The land bank believes the parcels would be desirable, were it not for delinquent property taxes that [...]