Kane County’s Deputy Sees a Poignant Tale in Each Foreclosure Eviction
Kane County’s deputy Jim Seidelman sees a poignant tale behind each foreclosure eviction – one story being distinct from the other. In this fifties Seidelman is a perfect professional and goes about his job meticulously but that does not stop him from understanding and feeling for the tragedy that unfolds before him one after another.
From his experience Seidelman says nearly 80% of the foreclosure victims leave after packing up prior to the arrival of the sheriff’s agents. Many have nowhere to take their belongings so they just leave it there – furniture and even clothes. It seemed as if they had gone out to work and would come back any moment. Forgotten family photographs remain as silent witnesses to the tragedy that overtook their lives.
But there were ugly scenes too – there were for instance sometimes messages written with excrement using foul language against the banks. Many loot the property before departing – yanking off fittings, cabinets, wires and anything moveable or saleable. In one case he came upon a message written on a wall that seemed to have once been lived in by a young girl. It read, “You can take our house, but you can’t take our family”.
Seidelman feels that at times like this the best and the worst in humanity comes out. In one case Seidelman had to spend ten hours to evict a lone woman who had not packed even a single box. Neighbours came over to help and put some of her stuff in their own garages to prevent theft.
In Batavia he came upon a fellow sitting on his shorts and calmly drinking coffee. He had no idea what was going on. Finally the police came and fished out the foreclosure notices that his wife had hidden from him. She had gone off to work as usual without letting anyone know what was about to happen.
He has also come across people who have locked themselves inside the foreclosed property or stand aggressively in front of those who have come to move them out. Seidelman said, “They think if you can’t get in, you can’t do the eviction. We’ll break the window. We’ll use whatever force is necessary to get into the home”.
Till now he has not had had the experience of facing gun shots but he said that the possibility cannot be ruled out.
