And the Speaker found a good one this year. Rich Miller does a good rundown on the Speaker’s effort to reign in predatory lenders.
The Speaker is a creature of what he is–political power. He’s good at using it and good at generally doing things that Democrats approve, though he seldom uses it for an all out progressive bill. One should always be skeptical of his motives (other than keeping the majority), but there’s also a human underneath that scowl, somewhere, and in this case, the human brought a great victory for poor home owners who have been preyed upon for too long by predatory lenders. The bill essentially forces an area hit hard by predatory lending to have the mortgages reviewed by the State of Illinois. While that will slow down some transactions, it will also mean that areas hit hard will have someone to watch for contracts that seek to nickel and dime individuals out of their homes through a process of fees that never end.
More from Crane’s here
Having done some work related to this, consumer counseling is one of the more effective means of teaching citizens to know what to look for and how to budget for housing costs.
It’s no coincidence that the 13th Ward is one of the few areas in the city to avoid white flight while still having a growing minority (Latino) population.
Madigan championed a similar issue for his neighborhood a while back. Homes on the southwest side are insured for their purchase price through a program that is funded by a small, additional property tax. Thus, the economic fear that drove white flight (a minority family moving on the block leads to lower property values) was eliminated. As Latinos moved into the 13th Ward, there was not a wholesale exodus of residents fearing a loss in property values.
I believe the Speaker is more progressive than people give him credit for, but he is — as Larry points out — essentially a creature that amasses and uses power. Some of that power is used to make the 13th Ward a good place to live.