The Department of the Treasury released its fifth report card on how mortgage lenders are doing modifying loans for eligible homeowners under the government’s Making Home Affordable program (see the first, second, third, and fourth report cards).

A conference entitled “Mortgage Foreclosure Policy: Past, Present, and Future” brought together leading practitioners and scholars of the foreclosure crisis at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to highlight national and local efforts to combat foreclosures, engage in critical discussion of the causes of and solutions to the crisis, and develop plans to avoid future foreclosure crises.

The Department of the Treasury released its fourth report card on how mortgage lenders are doing modifying loans for eligible homeowners under the government’s Making Home Affordable program (see the first, second and third report cards). Eighteen lenders started modifications for less than 20% of their eligible loans, below the national average. Only ten lenders modified more than 20% of their eligible loans. Last month, seventeen lenders modified fewer loans than the national average, while nine lenders modified more loans than the national average.

Groups advocating on behalf of Illinois residents threatened by foreclosures recently won two important victories: the approval of a $3 million Cook County budget allocation for foreclosure mediation and the passage of a bill in the Illinois General Assembly empowering municipalities to better address the problem of vacant and foreclosed properties in their communities.

The Regional Home Ownership Preservation Initiative, a network of organizations working collaboratively to develop coordinated and robust solutions to the foreclosure crisis, is happy to announce the launch of the Regional HOPI website, www.regionalhopi.org.

The battle for financial services reform is being fought on national and local fronts on issues such as creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency and ensuring effective local responses to the foreclosure crisis. During its annual Fall Forum, the Illinois Community Investment Coalition brought together some of those on the front lines to reflect on the progress we’ve made so far and outline what’s left to be done.