KANE COUNTY

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015

County Board Room Agenda 4:00 PM

Kane County Government Center, 719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A, Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County Page 1

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Approval of Minutes: March 24, 2015

5. Presentations/Discussion

A. Drug Court Rehabilitation Update (Judge Marmarie Kostelny & Staff)

B. Foreclosure Mediation Update (Chief Judge Brawka & Staff) (ATTACHMENT)

C. Composition of Kane County Resolution to Support Reform in Springfield

6. Public Comment

7. Adjournment

KANE COUNTY

MORTGAGE

FORECLOSURE

MEDIATIONSTABILIZING HOMES IN KANE COUNTY

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OVERVIEW

1. Program Background

2. Kane County Foreclosures

3. First Year Outcomes

1. Participation

2. Case Outcomes

3. Service and Access Outcomes

4. Participant Satisfaction

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16TH CIRCUIT MEDIATION PROGRAM

• Mission Statement - Stabilizing homes in Kane County

• Objective - to reduce the burden of expenses sustained by

lenders, borrowers, and taxpayers as a result of residential

mortgage foreclosures. It is also designed to aid the administration

of justice by promoting judicial efficiency. Further, the program is

aimed at keeping families in their homes if possible, to prevent

vacant and abandoned houses in Kane County that negatively

affect property values and de-stabilize neighborhoods.

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PROGRAM PARTNERS

• This program was developed with collaboration among

stakeholders in the foreclosure justice system, including local legal

aid organizations, housing counseling agencies, plaintiffs’

attorneys, the Clerk of the Court, and the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit

Court Administration.

• Guidance of the Illinois Supreme Court through the Administrative

Office of the Illinois Courts, and funding and support provided by

the Kane County Board, along with Resolution Systems Institute

and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

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WHAT WE DOHOW WE DO IT

1. Provide the space and time to explore options.

• Stay the case – limited court action.

• This provides the homeowner time to work through options.

2. Provide resources and expertise.

• HUD-Approved housing Counseling.

• Joseph Corporation (Aurora)

• NHS of the Fox Valley (Elgin)

• CCCS of Northern Illinois (Woodstock)

• Legal aid.

3. Arrange a Mediation Session.

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FORECLOSURE FILINGS IN KANE COUNTY

3451

48575759

4334 4483

2651

1598

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Filings

H1 H2 TREND

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FORECLOSURES – 2014 + 2015(Q1)

155 150141 143

123135

154

112 106

141

105

139 133124

131

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Total Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Filings

Filings Linear (Filings)

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PROGRAM STATUS AND PARTICIPATION

Status of Cases Through Dec. 31, 2014

Foreclosures Filed 1,598

Initial Conference 456

Entered Program 366

Closed 260

Pending 106

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228

1598

1099

2130

730

256140

366

199133 105

173

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

6th 16th 17th 19th 20th 21st

Participation Between Circuits

Eligible Foreclosures Entered Program

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CURRENT STATUS AND OUTCOMES

78%

9%

3%1%

2%7%

CASES

Non-Participation Program Not Completed Retention

Relinquishment No Agreement Pending

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OUTCOMES

Outcomes of Closed Cases

Temporary

Payment

Plan/Retention

55 21.2%

Relinquishment 16 6.2%

No Agreement 39 15.2%

Program Not

Completed

146 56.8%

55, 22%

16, 6%

39, 15%

146, 57%

OUTCOMES

TPP/Retention Relinquishment

No Agreement Program Not Completed

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16TH COMPARISON

Homeowers HelpedForeclosureAvoidance

Retention Relinquishment

Highest County 67.60% 26.50% 14.20% 12.30%

Lowest County 10.20% 2.50% 2.10% 0%

16th 28.50% 6.90% 5.40% 1.60%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Impact on eligible cases

Highest County Lowest County 16th

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POPULATIONS SERVED

White, NotHispanic

Black/AfricanAmerican

Latino/Hispanic Asian Multi-Racial

Contacted 54.10% 5.10% 35% 2.40% 2.70%

Entered 52.30% 5.60% 36.50% 2.50% 2.50%

Completed 52.50% 6.10% 34.30% 4.00% 2.00%

Kane County 58.40% 6.00% 31.20% 3.90% 1.70%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

Cases Served by Race/Ethnicity

Contacted Entered Completed Kane County

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LANGUAGE ACCESS

• Language Access

• All docs are Bi-lingual

• Bi-lingual English Spanish Paralegal

• Interpretation services available for most other languages

• Challenges

• Fraud

• Participation challenges - Loss mitigation process

• Other external impediments

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PARTICIPANT INCOME

<$20,000$20,000 -$34,999

$35,000 -$49,999

$50,000 -$74,999

$75,000 -$99,999

$100,000-$149,999

$150,000+

Contacted 18.20% 27.20% 20.10% 18.50% 8.00% 4.90% 3.10%

Entered 16.80% 24.70% 20.00% 21.10% 8.90% 4.20% 4.20%

Completed 11.60% 23.20% 22.10% 24.20% 10.50% 5.30% 3.20%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

Contacted Entered Completed

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SATISFACTION

70.70%

100%

60.80%

96%

29.30%

0

39.10%

4.00%

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

120.00%

Homeowners Lenders Homeowner Attys Lenders Attys

How satisfied are you with the outcome of the mediation?

Very Satisfied/Satisfied Very Unsatisifed/Unsatisfied

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PROGRAM SATISFACTION

86.10%

100.00%95.60% 96%

13.80%

0.00%4.30% 4.00%

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

120.00%

Homeowners Lenders Homeowner attys Lenders attys

How satisfied are you with the overall experience?

Very satisfied / Satisfied Very Unsatisfied/Unsatisfied

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COMMENTS

Homeowners: “What did you like about the mediation

process?”

“Everything was perfect.”

“I appreciate the opportunity for a second chance and the

opportunity to ask questions amongst all parties involved.

The Mediator actually made me more at ease.”

“Thank you for saving my home, I couldn’t have done it without

you. God bless you.”

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COMMENTS CONT.

Attorneys: “What made mediation effective?”

“The cooperation among parties.”

“The mediator was very well informed and familiar with

chancery cases and different types of loans.”

“The mediator was very neutral and listed to both sides.”

“Both parties were able to express their concerns and what

the options were.”

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WEBSITE

Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation web site:

www.illinois16thjudicialcircuit.org/foreclosuremediation.aspx

RSI’s web site:

www.aboutrsi.org

RSI’s Court ADR Resource Center:

www.courtadr.org

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16th Judicial Circuit (Kane County) Overview

Program Start Date January 2, 2014

Entry Process (initial conference within 45 days of summons)

All eligible homeowners are referred to the program. The program coordinator calls the homeowner for the initial conference. If homeowner wants to participate and has filed an appearance, they enter the program.

Pre-Mediation Process (30-60 days to complete packet, 45-60 days for lender review)

Housing counseling is not mandatory. Housing counselors help homeowners to complete their loan packet and discuss possible options with them. Generally, this takes one or two sessions. Once done, lender is given 45 days to review the packet.

Mediation Process (mediation within 60 days of referral to mediation)

When the packet has been completed and reviewed, the lender’s attorney informs the program coordinator that the case is ready for mediation. Mediation is completed in one or two sessions.

Closure A case is closed when the homeowner doesn’t comply with program rules or voluntarily withdraws, the case is resolved, a temporary payment plan is entered, or there is no agreement.

Status of Cases Through Dec. 31, 2014

Foreclosures Filed 1,598

Initial Conference 416

Entered Program 337

Closed 254

Pending 83

Outcomes of Closed Cases*^

Temporary Payment Plan 30

Agreement: Retention 31

Agreement: Relinquishment 16

No Agreement 37

Closed: Program Not Completed 138

*When temporary payment plans are made permanent, the outcome is changed to Agreement: Retention. ^Four cases had outcomes marked as “other.”

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16th Judicial Circuit Details

Pre-Mediation

Outcomes*

Referred to Mediation 121

Referred to Legal Services - Left Program

1

In Temporary Payment Plan Trial 19

Agreement: Retention 7

Agreement: Relinquishment 4

No Agreement 1

Closed: Program Not Completed 126

Pending 58

Note: No pre-mediation participant experience data (such as satisfaction) has been collected for this program.

Participant Experience

11

*There was one outcome marked as “other.”

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16th Judicial Circuit Details

Outcomes*

Temporary Payment Plan Trial 27

Agreement: Retention 2

Agreement: Relinquishment 12

No Agreement 36

Closed: Program Not Completed 12

Pending 25

Mediation

Participant Experience

Party (n = 188)

Attorney (n = 145)

Satisfied overall 95% 94%

Satisfied with outcome 81% 87%

Process was fair 97% 98%

Average Days by Stage

From filing to close – all cases

Total in program – all cases

In program – completed

In program – not completed

In pre-mediation In mediation

117 81 102 64 65 45

12

*Three outcomes were marked as “other.”

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