Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program provides homeowners with a unique opportunity to explore possible resolutions to pending foreclosure actions. Mediation is a process where a neutral third-party (a trained mediator) helps borrowers and lenders communicate to explore available options that may resolve the foreclosure process. Housing counseling services are provided by HomeStart. HomeStart is a nonprofit, HUD-certified housing counseling agency. This program is available to homeowners in residential foreclosure cases filed in both Winnebago County and Boone County. Program participation is voluntary and homeowners incur no costs for the housing counseling and mediation services. As approved by the Illinois Supreme Court, full program rules are contained in Seventeenth Circuit Local Rule 2.14. The following forms may be used to ask the court to refer a case to mediation: Motion for Referral to Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation – Winnebago County Motion for Referral to Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation - Boone County Instructions for Self-Represented Persons on Filing Motions For more information on participation please visit www.ilforeclosureprogram.org or call 815-319-4995. A downloadable program brochure with additional information is also available: 17th Circuit Court Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program Brochure.
