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84 IOWA Sen. Grassley Addresses Third- Party Settlement Fund In June, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, applauding the AG for ending the practice of entering into settlement agreements "that direct a payment to a nongovernmental person or entity that is not a party to the dispute." According to Grassley, the Obama administration employed this practice to "to circumvent the congressional appropriations process by funneling money to politically active organizations and thereby effectively restore funding to organizations that Congress deliberately defunded." In particular, Grassley referenced the mortgage-lending settlements in 2013-2014 involving Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase where at least $640 million went to third-party organizations instead of the U.S. Treasury. Grassley also asked to receive a comple- ment list of all settlement actions, including: » A copy of the settlement agreement and any attendant documents directing a settling » defendant to pay a sum of money to any nongovernmental third party; » e total amount required to be paid by a settling defendant to nongovernmental third parties; » e list of nongovernmental third parties from which the settling defendant was allowed to choose as recipients for required payments; » Which organizations the settling defen- dant selected as recipients for the required payments; » How much the settling defendant was required or elected to pay to each selected nongovernmental third party; » To date, a full accounting of what payments have been made to nongovernmental third parties; and » Any payments that were made to the federal government but which have already been, or are intended for, distribution by the federal government to non-governmen- tal third parties for purposes other than restitution to a victim or directly remedying the harm that is sought to be redressed; and » A detailed explanation as to whether any payments during this time period, as di- rected by the department between settling defendants and nongovernmental third parties, could lawfully be rescinded and redirected back into the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. ILLINOIS Potestivo & Associates Announces New Partners Potestivo & Associates, P.C., who special- izes in the real estate finance and credit indus- try, is pleased to announce two attorneys from their Chicago team have been promoted to partner, effective June 12. Kimberly J. Goodell and Caleb J. Halberg will each serve in their new capacity as AVP - Managing Attorney and are the newest members of the firm's Omni Executive Committee. Goodell joined Potestivo & Associates, P.C. in September 2009 as a law clerk, in the firm's Chicago office. Goodell has represented a variety of departments since passing the Illinois Bar. Before her promotion, she worked in the firm's Litigation and REO Departments as an Associate Attorney, and most recently as Super- vising Attorney of the Foreclosure Department. Halberg joined the attorney team in June 2012. Before Potestivo & Associates, P.C., Halberg served as the Supervising Bankruptcy Attorney in the Illinois Bankruptcy Depart- ment. Halberg earned his B.A. in Econom- ics from the University of Minnesota and obtained his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. "In keeping up with our firm's commitment to advancing our team members, we are thrilled to announce both Goodell and Halberg as our newest partners," Brian Potestivo, President- Managing Attorney, said. "ey represent the best of Potestivo's strengths, including the breadth of our practices and national reach. Both attorneys have achieved this much-de- served promotion through hard work." ILLINOIS Investing in Detroit Home Mortgage According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, in June, Comerica Bank announced plans to invest up to $5 million in Detroit Home Mortgage. e program is managed by the Community Reinvestment Fund and aims to address the "appraisal gap" that has hurt the Detroit housing market. In order to qualify for the program, mortgage applicants must be in good financial standing with a minimum FICO score of 640 and count Detroit as their primary residence. Once the borrower is able to put down a mini- mum 3.5 percent down payment, the program provides them a first mortgage for the price of the home. en, program participants receive a second mortgage of up to $75,000 to cover appraisal gaps and home repairs. "In 2016, lenders said 29 mortgages in all were closed in Detroit as part of the program— including 14 mortgages closed by Hunting- ton and 10 mortgages closed by Chemical Bank, which merged with Troy-based Talmer Bank. e rest were made by Flagstar Bank and In- dependent Bank. Liberty Bank also offers mort- gages in the program now, too. All banks offer the same rates under the Detroit Home Mort- gage program," the Detroit Fee Press reported. Nonbank Lenders Becoming Draw for IT Professionals Computerworld has ranked Detroit-based Quicken Loans the No. 1 large company to work for in the information technologies industry for the fourth year running, due in large part to the can-do-it, optimistic attitude that pervades their offices, which are located in Detroit. Quicken Loans is known for their "isms," or the 19 core values that drives their business ethos. "Isms" are more like sayings rather than an employee handbook. ey include phrases like, "We'll figure it out," or "You've got it," or "a penny saved is a penny." And while they might sound simple, they signify a larger, more forward-thinking to business and innovation. If anything is proof the mortgage-lending firm is doing something right, it shows in their turnover rate, which sits at a meager 6 percent. eir IT department has around 1,500 people According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's "Out of Reach" report released in June, Illinois is the 16th most "Out of Reach" state for renters, meaning those earning minimum wage pay than 30 percent of their incomes on rent for an average one- or two-bedroom apartment. KNOW THIS

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