CHICAGO — The Cook County sheriff who was sued by a subprime lender after he refused to carry out any more evictions says his office will start the procedures on Monday.

Sheriff Thomas J. Dart has issued a statement that because of a recent overhaul of Cook County's eviction process, renters will now be notified that their building is in foreclosure. In addition, banks must prove to the sheriff's office that they informed tenants of a 120-day grace period granted by state law that gives renters time to obtain new housing.

Dart said the safeguards came as a result of several discussions between his office and the Cook County Circuit Court's Chancery Division.

“Those steps not only protect tenants, but also taxpayers, who will no longer foot the bill for conducting due diligence investigations for the banks,” Dart said.

Foreclosure filings have climbed in Cook County since 1999 with the number of foreclosure evictions tripling in just two years. Dart projected that his office will conduct more than 43,000 evictions this year.

Dart said mortgage foreclosure evictions are also up with his office on pace to conduct 4,500 mortgage foreclosure evictions this year compared to just 1,771 two years ago.