A Trusted Source

Walking home from school tonite, I saw a billboard on the side of a bus that just about stopped me dead in my tracks.



The City of Chicago, a "Trusted Source"? The same city government that let the high-cost loan industry flourish in low-income neighborhoods, making Chicago the nation's capital for "high-cost" home loans? Fortunately for Chicagoans, they have the city's Department of Housing to protect them. And former aldermen like Ted Matlak, to thank.

With the domestic economy still lagging under the weight of the housing crisis, it's a sad fact that many people are stuck in homes they can't afford. It's hard to feel sorry for speculators who thought they could get into the housing market, hold an overvalued property for a few years and flip it for a quick and easy profit. When there is a TV show called "Flip That House", and a competing TV show called "Flip This House", you know the economy is fucked. But when regular people take a beating on a collapsing market, the just desserts don't taste as sweet.