McHenry County tackling housing crisis

Last year, 2,315 homes were foreclosed on in McHenry County, in many instances ending lifelong dreams for its owners.

This year, dozens of those homes could once again be the stuff of dreams, thanks to a federally funded program that will buy them back from the banks that foreclosed and resell them to families as affordable housing.

The purchases are possible through $3 million awarded to the county by Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a federal plan designed to acquire and redevelop homes that might otherwise sit empty and a blight a community.

"The whole purpose of the program is to revitalize these communities by putting people to work rehabilitating these homes and then putting people in them," said Mary Lu Seidel, executive director of Corporation for Affordable Homes of McHenry County.

Seidel, who will oversee the program along with McHenry County Board member Virginia Peschke, said the funding should cover the costs of buying and renovating 10 to 20 homes a year for the next four years.

Those numbers could rise if the county receives extra funding - perhaps another $3 million or more - if the federal program receives additional backing through the stimulus package being debated today in Washington, D.C.

It is just one of several initiatives government leaders, social service groups and housing agencies will discuss next month when McHenry County holds a forum on the current housing crisis.

Home foreclosures rose about 45 percent last year, including an average of more than 200 foreclosures a month in September through December. There is no sign that trend is slowing so far this year.

"It's pretty scary out there for a lot of people," Peschke said.

The forum will focus on educating county municipalities, government agencies, social service organizations, churches and others who can help on what assistance is out there. Keeping up with that is no simple task as new programs aimed at helping homeowners in need come and go almost daily, Peschke said.

"It's like shifting sands," she said.

The forum will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at the McHenry County Administration building in Woodstock. Required reservations can be made by calling the county planning department at (815) 334-4560.