Illinois Home buyers may go to class

The Chicago Tribune reports:

In a crackdown aimed at unscrupulous mortgage brokers who help Chicagoans take out loans they can't afford to repay, thousands of first-time home buyers in Cook County would be required to receive financial counseling before completing the purchase of homes under legislation sent to Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday.

The legislation comes at a tumultuous time in the real estate market, when many homeowners who made their purchases with aggressive loans went into foreclosure after their interest rates rose.

The new law, which would take effect in July 2008, was drafted after Blagojevich suspended a pilot program in January aimed at curbing predatory lending in 10 neighborhoods in the Chicago area. Blagojevich said the program made it harder for prospective home buyers in predominantly minority communities to get mortgages.

The Nanny State in Illinois.No word yet on Illinois banning state programs that help first time home buyers with insufficient income.