FORECLOSURES? YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, chairman of the House Domestic Policy subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is bringing his subcommittee to Northeast Ohio Monday for a field hearing to get the feeling of the community on the impact of the foreclosure crisis.

He couldn’t come to a better place — not just because Northeast Ohio has been one of the hardest-hit areas in the country, but also because Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis has nationally recognized as one of the nation’s top experts and solution-seekers on the issue since he began warning a decade ago about the coming wave of foreclosures. According to a press release from his office, he’s expected to talk about the threat of so-called “zombie loans” and underwater mortgages, and the need for more funding for face-to-face mortgage counseling programs.

Rokakis will be joined by Mark Seifert, executive director of foreclosure-fighting group ESOP (Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People), Lou Tisler, executive director of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland, whose mission is to expand sustainable home ownership, and Frank Ford, senior vice president of nonprofit Neighborhood Progress Inc., which works to strengthen neighborhoods. Also testifying will be state Representative Mike Foley, Democrat from Cleveland, and state Senator Tim Grendell, Republican from Chesterland.

The hearing starts at 10 a.m. Monday, December 7, at the Carl Stokes Federal Courthouse (801 W. Superior Ave.). It is open to the public. — Anastasia Pantsios