Mortgages, jobs on the minds of constituents at Palatine event

With Illinois ranking eighth out of 50 states for most foreclosures, it's little surprise the housing booth was the biggest draw at a federal government open house in Palatine Saturday.

The event, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean at Harper College, featured an array of government departments offering advice on issues including Medicare, veterans' affairs, student assistance, income taxes and Social Security.

But the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development kiosk saw the most traffic as many people sought assistance with pending foreclosures. Others wanted to learn more about a new federal program aimed at helping people reduce interest rates or refinance and at unemployed borrowers.

Linda McAtee of Schaumburg was keeping up with payments on her home despite the fact her sister, who co-owns the house, has lost her job. But now, "I've got an upside down mortgage," where the home is worth less than the loan, she said. "Interest rates keep going up and up."

HUD housing specialist Cheryl Lombre' said about 100 people had dropped by during the event. "There's a lot of people in trouble with defaults. No one I talked to had lost their house but some were in foreclosure. There was one lady who cried," she said.

Another sign of the times and the 11.4 percent unemployment rate in Illinois was Perry Gold, an Arlington Heights attorney looking for work. He was hoping to talk to Bean about unemployment benefits. "I'm upset that the federal extension (of benefits) only covers people who've worked for a year," Gold said.

Bean, a Barrington Democrat, is in an election race with Republican Joe Walsh of Winnetka this November.

For more information about the mortgage assistance program, call (888) 995-4673 or visit Makinghomeaffordable.gov.