Michigan attorneys’ work to combat tax foreclosures featured on PBS’s ‘Visionaries’
Michigan-based consumer advocates are featured alongside attorneys with the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) in the upcoming season of “Visionaries,” the award-winning public-television series hosted by acclaimed actor Sam Waterston.
Episode 11 of the series’ 23rd season, now available to local Public Broadcasting Stations, profiles Michigan-based attorneys Lorray Brown with the Michigan Poverty Law Project; Marilyn Mullane with Michigan Legal Services; and Joon H. Sung with Lakeshore Legal Aid as they work alongside attorneys at the National Consumer Law Center to protect low-income families from wrongful eviction and foreclosure. The clients featured in the episode are emblematic of a larger American story of insecure housing; of Davids taking on corporate Goliaths; and of the principle that equal justice under the law is a fundamental right of all citizens.
“I do consumer protection work because it’s in my DNA,” said Lorray Brown, co-managing attorney at the Michigan Poverty Law Program. “With the NCLC and our local legal aid partners, we’re able to take the fight to the big banks and corporations and win--saving countless client’s homes.”
“MPLP and the NCLC have been invaluable assets for the foreclosure work that we do in field offices in Michigan,” said Marilyn Mullane, executive director of Michigan Legal Services. “Their expertise on complex consumer matters, quick and responsive research as needed, and training support on emerging issues for our state-wide network of foreclosure lawyers contributes to many successful outcomes, not otherwise possible given the overwhelming demand for these services.”
“The documentary captures the heart and soul of advocates in the trenches fighting against massive odds to keep at-risk families in their homes, and it embodies our vision of a nation in which everyone benefits from economic fairness, security, and justice,” said Richard Dubois, executive director of the National Consumer Law Center.
“Visionaries” latest season takes viewers around the world to experience the lives of extraordinary people tackling some of humanity’s toughest challenges. The producers chose to highlight Michigan-based advocates fighting alongside state and national partners to advance consumer justice and achieve economic security for vulnerable families.
Detroit mayor to seek $200 million bond for blight removal
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says he plans to seek voter approval of a $200 million bond to help the city demolish or renovate all abandoned houses in the city.
Duggan announced the plan Thursday at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference. He says federal money for demolitions in Detroit will run dry in early 2020, and “we have to deal with this on our own.”
Duggan says he expects to ask the city council this fall for approval to put the blight-removal bond before voters in the March 2020 presidential primary election. He says the bond issue would not lead to a tax increase.
Duggan wants to demolish 4,000 houses a year. He says the bond would help get rid of all abandoned houses by the end of 2024.
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