$10,000 Increase Expected to Immediately Help 500 More Working Families Keep Their Homes; 7,000 Homeowners Helped So Far

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced that the Illinois Housing Development Authority is increasing the mortgage assistance available through the Illinois Hardest Hit program to $35,000 per household across the state, effective April 1. The governor also announced that Illinois Hardest Hit has reached a milestone, having recently helped its 7,000th homeowner avoid foreclosure. Today's announcement will help an additional 500 working families keep their homes and is part of the governor's commitment to strengthen Illinois' communities.

"Illinois Hardest Hit is one of the best resources working families have to help keep their homes," Governor Quinn said. "As Illinois continues to recover from the nation's worst recession since the Great Depression, we can make our economy stronger by ensuring that homeowners get the assistance they need to avoid foreclosure."

Gov. Quinn launched the Illinois Hardest Hit program in 2011 to help homeowners who experience an income reduction due to unemployment or underemployment in two ways: monthly mortgage payment assistance and reinstatement assistance. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has already committed nearly $160 million to more than 7,000 homeowners in 94 counties and continues to assist an average of 22 at-risk homeowners each day. Over the course of 2012, Illinois had the third most number of homeowners approved for assistance among the 18 states receiving Hardest Hit funds.

"The Illinois Hardest Hit program has been a vital resource for thousands of Illinois homeowners working to regain their financial footing," said Mary Kenney, IHDA executive director. "We found the most common reason otherwise eligible families were unable to be helped was because the amount necessary to bring their mortgage current exceeded the program limit. With an increased assistance limit, the program will support families at a critical time in the state's recovery."

The Illinois Hardest Hit program increase will address the realistic needs of unemployed or underemployed homeowners across the state. With $10,000 more assistance per family to allocate, more than 500 Illinois families could be assisted immediately. Over the next 30 days, program staff will contact the following groups of homeowners to see if they qualify to have their program terms amended in alignment with the new cap:

·         Homeowners who are currently receiving assistance;

·         Homeowners who were in the program but exhausted their benefits in 2013;

·         Homeowners who applied for the program in 2013 but were ineligible because their need exceeded the previous limit of $25,000

Homeowners who exited the program or were denied assistance before January 1, 2013, should reach out to the housing counselor they worked with to re-apply. New applicants can apply at www.illinoishardesthit.org. IHDA expects an additional 100 families per month to be eligible for mortgage payment support under the program extended limits.

While the foreclosure crisis is not over, CoreLogic reports that foreclosure inventory in Illinois is down almost 20 percent from last year and the average median home price rose from $115,000 to $132,500.  Illinois' 86,000 homes in foreclosure remain a serious issue, but the downward trend is a promising sign that the recovery efforts of the state and its partners are working.

"This is an exciting program change for homeowners in Illinois," said Joseph McGavin, director of the Illinois Hardest Hit program. "We are working to streamline our processes to accommodate this change and urge homeowners to act now as federal funds are limited."

The Illinois Hardest Hit program is the flagship initiative under Governor Quinn's Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN), an interagency support system and public awareness campaign that has connected thousands of Illinois residents with the services they need to keep their homes. Since IFPN was launched in 2012, over 600,000 households have been connected to free foreclosure help.

·         485,700 homeowners have accessed the IFPN website or the Illinois Hardest Hit program website.

·         More than 63,600 people have called IFPN help hotlines.

·         More than 50,400 homeowners have received homeownership counseling.

·         More than 3,800 people have attended a series of IFPN workshops across the state.

Illinois residents having trouble paying their mortgage or know someone who is should reach out to the Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network by visiting the IFPN website at www.keepyourhomeillinois.org or the IFPN hotline at 855-KEEP-411.

About the Illinois Housing Development Authority

IHDA (www.ihda.org) is a self-supporting state agency that finances the creation and the preservation of affordable housing across Illinois. Since its creation in 1967, IHDA has allocated more than $11.6 billion and financed approximately 225,000 affordable units across the state.

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PORT BYRON, IL - Investment scam artists who prey on unsuspecting individuals would no longer
escape prosecution under legislation being advanced by State Representative Mike Smiddy (D-Port
Byron).

"This measure goes after scammers and protects Illinois residents from unscrupulous investors," Smiddy
said. "Too many snake oil salesman and hucksters avoid being held accountable for their crimes - this
legislation aims to change that. By extending the statute of limitations to void crooked investment deals
we can penalize perpetrators while helping people who have been wronged."

House Bill 2969 amends the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 to broaden the limitations period for bringing
an action to void a security's sale. Under current law, a defrauded investor may bring a private or civil
action within three years from the date of sale. This three-year period may be extended by two years if
the investor did not know about the fraud. However, the current statutory language sets a firm cap of
five years for prosecution. Smiddy's legislation removes the five-year cap and provides that limitations
may be further extended as a way to prevent scammers from escaping prosecution.

"Con-artists and those who defraud investors should not be able to avoid liability," Smiddy said. "This is
a strong strep toward increasing consumer protections and decreasing the number of crooked investors
in Illinois. I urge my colleagues in the House to join me in passing this important piece of legislation
quickly."

For more information, contact Smiddy's office at RepSmiddy@gmail.com, (309) 848-9098, or toll free at
(855) 243-4988.

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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today as House Republicans released their budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2014.

"The budget proposal released today unfortunately is more of the same from House Republicans.  Instead of offering a commonsense blueprint to get Iowans back to work and the economy back on track, they once again pledge to balance the budget on the back of seniors, the middle class and the most vulnerable.

"We've got to grow the economy, create jobs and substantially reduce the unsustainable deficit over the long-term, but it must be done in a balanced way.  It is time to hit the restart button. We can't afford to end the promise of Medicare and give tax breaks to the wealthy.  Seniors and working families are not the ones who got us into this fiscal mess and it is unfair that they get punished for Washington's reckless behavior.

"I am hopeful Congress can sit down in a bipartisan manner and work out a balanced, commonsense budget that sets our country on a fiscally responsible path while growing the middle class."

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JOB CREATORS TO WASHINGTON: STOP BULLYING BUSINESS

(DALLAS, TX) - The CEO leaders of Job Creators Alliance today announced their strong support of a restaurant franchisee whose health care comments landed him in the national spotlight. The small business group also identified a troubling pattern of orchestrated campaigns to silence small business complaints about Obamacare.

"Mike Ruffer is in the same tough spot most job creators are in today: stuck between uncertainty and Obamacare," said Bernie Marcus, co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot. "He has every right to speak his mind, but today he's being punished for it. In fact, he's just the latest - we're seeing a pattern of intimidation against small business leaders who speak up about the failures of Obamacare."

Mr. Ruffer, owner of eight Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchises in North Carolina, joined a Monday Heritage Foundation panel discussion on Obamacare and small business. Ruffer said health care reform was hurting his business and forcing him to cancel expansion plans and raise burger prices. When his comments hit the Internet, calls from Obamacare supporters rained into executives at Five Guys headquarters. Within hours, corporate was distancing themselves from the beleaguered small businessman.

"What is most disturbing is that many business leaders like Mr. Ruffer are being singled out for a public thrashing for simply explaining the realities of the Affordable Care Act," said Marcus, who is also co-founder of Job Creators Alliance (JCA).

Darden Restaurants - owner of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Red Lobster restaurants - spoke out in late 2012 and was rapidly rebuked via telephone, email and social media. At the same time, RREMC Restaurants, which owns more than 30 Denny's locations, announced plans to pass the cost on to consumers. Within a day, Denny's corporate offices had the CEO apologizing. Last month, Universal Orlando Resort announced cancellation of a health care program for their part time employees and the Internet exploded in derision.

"The list goes on and on: Applebees, Papa John's, even golfer Phil Mickelson - when a business owner speaks up about job killing policies, they are quickly bullied into apologizing," said JCA member Mike Leven, president and CEO of Las Vegas Sands. "Who is orchestrating the telephone banks and email campaigns which erupt moments after a business leader speaks against Obamacare? For the first time in my long career, I feel like a target. We all do."

"Job creators across the country are staring into the depths of Obamacare uncertainty today, facing the same decisions as Mr. Ruffer," Marcus said. "That's bad enough. But when campaign forces attack small business leaders like him, disrupting commerce and risking jobs just to make a political point, job creators are no longer just uncertain. They're afraid."

ABOUT JCA

Job Creators Alliance is the voice of real job creators that has been missing from the American debate on jobs and our economic crisis. JCA members talk about paychecks, not politics, helping the public and policymakers understand how to create jobs. Please visit www.JobCreatorsAlliance.org for more information.

 

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