Vigilante or Hero?
Posted by Marie on 09 Oct 2008 | Tagged as: Opinions
Tom Dart, a Cook County sheriff here in Illinois, is ranking as nationally newsworthy due to the fact that he has decided to take a stand against financial entities that are raping the system:
What isn’t part of our job, however, is to carry out work on behalf of the multi-billion-dollar banks and mortgage industries.
Too many times, our deputies arrive at a home to carry out a mortgage foreclosure eviction, only to find a tenant — dutifully paying their rent each month — who is unaware their landlord stopped using that rent money to pay the mortgage. They had no fair warning that they were about to be thrown out of their home.
That’s because, in many cases, the banks have done nothing to determine, in advance, who’s living in the building — even though it’s required by state law. Instead, those banks expect taxpayers to pay for that investigative work for them.
That stops today.
We won’t be doing the banks’ work for them anymore.
We won’t surprise tenants with an eviction order intended for their landlord.
I may be held in contempt of court over this. If that’s the case, I’m willing to accept it though I believe most judges in Cook County share my desire to find a solution for this mess.
We’re asking either the state courts or Legislature to order the banks to simply conduct very basic work before requesting an eviction.
I’ve come to this point after spending the last year trying to work with the banking industry, even asking the Legislature to pass a bill requiring them to — at a minimum — let us know if any children, disabled or senior citizens live at the home, so we can connect them with social services. That effort was killed by banking industry lobbyists.
Until the banking industry steps up and does the right thing, I won’t continue to risk violating the law and open taxpayers to further liability.
Not only would I call this man a hero– I applaud his bravery to stand up against this injustice perpetrated upon the American people. These financial industries have brought this country to it’s knees. Because of the greed of these entities, this country no longer serves the people who live in it– we are merely slaves of it. It’s time for us to stand up against every injustice such as this one. It’s time to take this country back. It’s time for this government to exist to benefit the American people, rather than to benefit some nameless, faceless, financial entities, who are apparently unaccountable for their actions.
