Illinois Foreclosures Rank Third Nationally

Not only is the housing crisis far from over, in Illinois it may be getting worse.

Foreclosure filings jumped 56 percent in October, resulting in the highest monthly total for Illinois since January 2005, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.

Illinois had the third-highest number of foreclosures in the nation last month with 19,946, and was the only state with a foreclosure rate in the top 10 to see an increase in foreclosure activity.

The report cites a recently passed state law that gives homeowners extra time to avoid foreclosure as possibly having created pent-up activity.

Since the law went into effect in April, Illinois foreclosure activity had decreased for three straight months before the October spike.

Nevada, California and Florida posted the highest foreclosure rates in October. Illinois ranked sixth.