RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6(a); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the financial and housing crisis that came to a head in the mid-2000's destabilized and damaged economies and households in cities throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, the crisis cut swaths of economic despair into the City, a point made with the Chicago Tribune's 2009 characterization of Chicago's Marquette Park as "ground zero of the international financial collapse;" and
WHEREAS, the crisis was precipitated by unfair mortgage lending practices that led to equity, wealth, and eventually, home losses for homeowners throughout the nation; and
WHEREAS, municipal leaders have long had to wrestle for marginal gains in their efforts against predatory lenders and their treatment of troubled borrowers and properties; and
WHEREAS, in a significant boost to these efforts, on May 1, 2017, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the city of Miami, Florida had standing to sue banks for predatory lending practices under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (FHA); and
WHEREAS, the FHA prohibits racial discrimination in housing sales, rentals, and services; and
WHEREAS, Miami claims that banks engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending practices by targeting African-American and Latino neighborhoods and residents for risky mortgages with unfavorable terms; and
WHEREAS, Miami contends that these practices led to foreclosures, damaging the city's property tax base, exacerbating segregation, and increasing expenses due to the increased need for services to counteract the blight and unsafe conditions that foreclosures present; and
WHEREAS, like Miami, the cities of Los Angeles and Sa...
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