Geoff Smith and Sarah Duda

The following report illustrates the relationship between foreclosures and vacant properties in the City of Chicago.  It combines data from the City of Chicago on vacant and potentially vacant buildings with data on foreclosure filings, completed foreclosure auctions, and property transfers to better understand the number of vacant properties that have at some point been part of the foreclosure process.  It identifies a group of “red flag” properties which are troubled vacant properties where a foreclosure has been filed, but no outcome has been reached.  The report also identifies a group of lender-owned, foreclosed properties that are most likely vacant and not in compliance with the City of Chicago’s vacant building regulations. The report ends with policy recommendations to address problems associated with troubled, vacant foreclosures. Included are appendices of troubled, foreclosed vacant properties by Chicago community area and ward.

Press release |  Fact sheet |  Briefing (mp3)

Geoff Smith, Sean Zielenbach, Jennifer Newon, and Sarah Duda

This study examines the nature of the interaction of banks and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in small business lending. We examine the experience of six different CDFIs that vary by size, corporate structure, and market. We explore how they both collaborate and compete with regulated lenders, and how changes in local and national market dynamics affect their activities. Our case studies are not necessarily representative of the CDFI industry, but they offer insights on the factors that shape CDFIs’ interactions with and responses to more mainstream institutions. Our findings are therefore more descriptive than prescriptive, although we offer suggestions for both CDFI practice and future research.

press release

Geoff Smith, Sarah Duda, and Katie Buitrago

This report found that high-cost refund anticipation loans (RALs), which allow borrowers to receive their expected tax refund in one to three days, cost Illinoisans more than $114 million in 2006, with tax filers in African-American communities 3.5 times more likely to use RALs than the state average. The report is based on an analysis of 2006 tax data and recommends policy changes, such as a RAL fee cap and better funding of free tax preparation, to reduce the negative impact of RALs on low-wealth communities.

press release

Whitni Thomas and Jessica Brown, new economics foundation

Malcolm Bush and Geoff Smith, Woodstock Institute 

This report seeks to reinvigorate the debate on bank disclosure in the UK and to create a better understanding of why it should be demanded of banks.  This analysis is carried out through detailed case studies comparing Charter One Bank in Chicago in the US – where banks have disclosed local lending practices since 1975- with its parent company Royal Bank of Scotland in Manchester – to review the level of information available and the impact that this has.

To do this we evaluate the available information on small-business lending, bank branch availability and basic bank account opening in underserved areas of Manchester.  Our analysis indicates that data on these factors is generally difficult to obtain, inconsistent, and in many cases incomplete.

Geoff Smith and Sarah Duda

This report summarizes key foreclosure trends in the Chicago region for 2009 and updates Woodstock Institute reports and fact sheets released previously that illustrated key aspects of the foreclosure crisis, such as the spread of the crisis to suburban communities, the growing number of condominium foreclosures in Chicago, and the accumulated impact of the crisis on lower-income communities. The report includes detailed appendices with data for City of Chicago community areas and municipalities in the Chicago Six County Area, as well as DeKalb, Winnebago, and Kendall County.

This report found that much of South Suburban Cook County, McHenry County, and parts of Northwest Will County have gaps in foreclosure counseling services. Even in areas where several agencies actively provide foreclosure prevention counseling, four out of every five new foreclosure cases in 2008 did not access counseling services.

press release

Geoff Smith and Sarah Duda

This report analyzed Chicago region foreclosure auction and property transfer data and found that vacant, lender-owned properties are heavily concentrated in African American communities, go unsold longer, and incur greater losses to the lender than similar properties in predominantly white communities.

press release