Chicago Sheriff Says the Rule of Law Doesn’t Apply There

Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart is refusing to enforce foreclosure orders, according to a news report:

Citing an “economic crisis,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced today he is stopping all mortgage foreclosure evictions until lenders can prove renters have been notified.

Dart conceded the action could leave him open to contempt of court for not carrying out eviction orders, but said, “We are no longer going to be party to something that is so unjust.”

The suspension will apply only to houses, condominiums and other properties in foreclosure. Evictions for lease violations by tenants who have not paid their rent will continue.

Dart is taking the action until banks and other mortgage holders submit affidavits in court showing whoever is living in the home has been given the proper 120 day notice to get out.

The action is meant to address the increasingly common situation in which the owner of a house rents it out and fails to pay the mortgage, and the courts order the sheriff to evict those living in the unit, who turn out to be renters who paid their rent and were never properly notified.

Talk about social “justice” in action. Maybe someone can make a citizen’s arrest of Dart for his unlawful dereliction of duty. This is not the kind of call that law enforcement officers are supposed to make.

Of course it seems reasonable that tenants should have to be given some kind of appropriate advance notice but it is not for local sheriffs to make up the law as they go along.