Sept. 30, 2007 (LPAC)--The "dark side of the real estate industry" over the past several years has caused outright deaths in neighborhoods such as Slavic Village, a working-class area of Cleveland, in Ohio's Cuyahoga County, whose Treasurer Jim Rokakis, stressed this point in his latest article. Appearing as a feature in today's Washington Post, it is titled, "The Shadow of Debt; Slavic Village Is Fast Becoming a Ghost Town; It's Not Alone." At last count 800 houses, and entire streets in the community have been abandoned, giving way to drugs, despair, violence, and death. On Sept. 1, 12 year old Asteve "Cookie" Thomas was killed in the crossfire of drug dealers. On March 15 this year, 78-year old Joe Krasucki was beaten to death, when he went outside his home to see whether looters were vandalizing it, as they had done to his neighbor's vacant house.

This is the "social chaos" Lyndon LaRouche warned of, if Congress fails to face reality, and take emergency measures such as the immediately required, "Homeowners and Bank Protection Act."

Rokakis, County Treasurer for over 10 years, is a national spokesman for localities demanding Federal emergency action to deal with home foreclosures. In Pittsburgh last week, he spoke on the foreclosure crisis at a conference on "Reclaiming Vacant Properties; Strategies for Rebuilding America's Neighborhoods." He most recently testified to Congress at the July 25 hearing by the Joint Economic Committee. He was interviewed July 26 by EIR ("Home Foreclosure Crisis Slams Formerly Industrialized Cleveland" Aug. 10,2007, Vol. 34, No. 31).

Rokakis makes the point, "Cleveland isn't alone." From Stockton, California, to Bridgeport, Connecticut, the crisis is intense. "Foreclosures in my own Cuyahoga County doubled from 3,500 in 1995 to more than 7,000 in 2000, and houses all over Cleveland began emptying out--houses like the one next door to Joe Krasucki..." In 2006, more than 13,600 mortgage foreclosures were filed in Cuyahoga County--the worst in the nation.

Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo and other Ohio cities tried to take local action to stop the predation. Then in 2006, a "tsunami of foreclosures forced the legislature's hand" in Columbus. But the crisis is larger.

"A flurry of legislative proposals has come before Congress, including bills by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). These bills prohibit brokers from steering home buyers into higher-priced loans" and other predatory contracts. "Helpful steps, but too late."

Rokakis points out that the cities' tax base is gone. "In my county, more than 74,000 homeowners have filed for property tax reductions this year." They are still in their well-kept houses, but surrounded by vacant lots and derelict structures. One elderly woman brought him a photo, and wept. "We've all read about the losses at investment-banking firms like Bear Stearns, but we don't read about that woman..." He ridiculed the Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Rokakis ends his article with a call for Federal aid to cities to deal with this situation, even for financing demolition and rebuilding. "Cities aren't asking for a bailout; they're asking for emergency funds to address the huge costs they've incurred because a private-sector industry was out of control. Congress needs to help the cities that helped make this country great--cities like Detroit and Cleveland. And they need to do it for Cookie Thomas and Joe Krasucki."