Discussion Forum

Marty Couch
Investor

HB 4050

Friday, January 19 2007 10:39 AM

I just received this press release about HB 4050. Thought it might be of interest...

Governor, legislature must act

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Mortgage Brokersto Lead Massive Rally Demanding an End to HB 4050 Redlining in Redeveloping Chicago Neighborhoods

Press Conference Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

CHICAGO (Jan. 18, 2007)  With opposition growing to the punishing effects of HB 4050 -- which a new University of Illinois study finds has placed unfair burdens on property buyers in several redeveloping Chicago neighborhoods -- the Rainbow PUSH Coalition will host a rally at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, at Rainbow PUSH headquarters, 930 E. 50th St., demanding that Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Illinois legislature rescind the law and restore fair housing practices throughout Illinois.

We must join all our forces together to stop this new redlining, just as we fought the old redlining, Rev. Jackson says. No matter how well-intentioned HB 4050 may have been in targeting predatory lending, we now have facts that support its damaging effect on the financial lives of Chicagos African Americans and Hispanics. This practice is discriminatory and must end.

The law has curtailed business and driven down property values by requiring costly mortgage counseling for many prospective buyers in 10 Chicago ZIP Codes, along with other measures that have discouraged investment in these communities.

Together with members of the Coalition to Rescind HB4050, Rev. Jackson is seeking action in part on the basis of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. Illinois New Approach to Regulating Predatory Lending: Unintended Consequences of Borrower Triggers and Spatial Targeting is a revealing tool that would have caused legislatures to reconsider before enacting a law that effectively discriminates against residents, property owners, and prospective buyers within in the 10 ZIP Codes affected.

Attorney Warren Ballentine will speak at Saturdays rally, which precedes the internationally televised Saturday Morning Forum at Rainbow PUSH headquarters.   This Saturday we will be creating history when hundreds of residents come out in support of removing this law, Ballentine says. We are fighting for something that Dr. King fought so hard for -- open housing -- and we will fight not only for open housing but other issues affecting minorities.

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization protecting, defending and expanding civil rights to improve economic and educational opportunity. The organization is headquartered at 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. For more information about the RainbowPUSH Coalition, please visit the organizations website, www.rainbowpush.org, or telephone (773) 373-3366.  To confirm your attendance at the press conference, or to interview Rev. Jackson on this issue, please call the number listed above.

Marty Couch
http://www.PPLChicago.com

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