Opportunity in unkempt properties

The June 15 article about good news on Schaumburg foreclosure rates improving is indeed positive, yet the numbers remain too high to signal any recovery or turnaround in the Schaumburg or Cook County real estate market. The part of the article that caught my attention was the money spent maintaining vacant properties. Whereas I agree this is a good use of village resources to protect property values, I can’t understand why, with high rates of unemployment, the village of Schaumburg is not taking the opportunity to create seasonal employment for the unemployed in Schaumburg.

I venture to guess village resources budgeted for this purpose would allow increased coverage for maintenance of affected properties. It would be a win-win for the village; employment would increase self worth and promote pride in community.

Randy Schmidt

Schaumburg