The Compassionate Eviction

After halting evictions several months back, a county in Illinois is taking a softer approach to tossing families out of their homes:

What has emerged is a kinder, gentler eviction process. Now banks must prove that tenants were notified 120 days in advance. Deputies visit the properties three times before the eviction, and a social worker helps connect the residents with public services — sometimes even putting them in touch with new landlords.

It's one of the only known efforts by a sheriff's department to make evictions more compassionate.

"You're dealing with people who are on their last bit of whatever, whether it's the last bit of a divorce, of their money or their job is ending," deputy Kyle Tryba said.

The goal is to give families more time to find a place to live.

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