CHICAGO – Criminals who attempt to take possession of property during foreclosure proceedings will now have a more difficult time attempting their crime thanks to legislation sponsored by State Senator Bill Cunningham. The new law will shield properties in financial distress from criminals trying to file bogus legal claims on the properties.

Senate Bill 1487, signed into law last week, establishes a ‘Foreclosure Property Pilot Program” in Cook County to address issues the Cook County Recorder of Deeds has encountered with fraudulent recordings on foreclosed property.  Beginning next year, judges will be able to issue an order barring any non-record claimants from recording, without approval of the court, a lien on property that is the subject of a foreclosure action. The legislation comes at the request of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

“Previously, criminals were able to file legal documents against properties in the foreclosure process without the Recorder having the ability to verify those documents. With the signing of this legislation, we now have an opportunity to put a stop to this practice and protect property rights for our residents,” Senator Cunningham said.

Reports of fraudulent filings began to come to the forefront in the wake of the “Great Recession”. In particular, many people claimed to have the legal ability to simply move into properties based on flawed legal reasoning. Previously, the Recorder had to accept all filings against properties without the ability to review and dismiss.

“Property fraud devastates communities. With this new tool, we are helping rebuild our neighborhoods and keeping criminals from profiting from financial misery,” Senator Cunningham said.