Illinois posted the highest foreclosure rate throughout the nation in August for the first time since January 2005, while rates in the metro-east remained steady.

According to a report by Irvine, Calif.-based online real estate tracker RealtyTrac, one out of every 298 homes filed for foreclosure in Illinois last month. That was the highest rate in the country, RealtyTrac said.

In the metro-east, foreclosure filings remained relatively high. St. Clair County saw 109 filings in August after having 135 in July and 112 in August 2011. In Madison County, there were 134 home foreclosed upon a month ago after the county recorded 137 foreclosure filings in July and 112 during August 2011.

Al Suguitan, president and chief operating officer of the Greater Gateway Association of Realtors in Glen Carbon, said a still high unemployment rate and slow economy continues to contribute to the local foreclosure rate.

"With the monthly numbers two months in a row close to the same, maybe we have reached the new normal that we have talked about," Suguitan said. "Maybe that's where we're at. The job numbers, in my mind, are still abysmal. If you start seeing those numbers decline or the overall percentage decline, I think then you'll start seeing decreases in foreclosures."

RealtyTrac's numbers revealed that August marked the 22nd consecutive month that fewer U.S. properties had completed the foreclosure process. However, Illinois witnessed an 18 percent increase in foreclosure last month from August 2011. The state's foreclosure activity jumped by 29 percent between July and August for a total of 17,781.

Among the top 10 U.S. cities reporting the largest increases in foreclosure activity between the end of July and Aug. 31 were Chicago, at 28 percent, and Rockford, at 15 percent.

RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist said that the recent surge in foreclosure in Illinois and in Florida, which ranked second highest in foreclosure activity last month, bucks a national trend. These two states as well as 20 other states are judicial states, or those where judicial procedure is the primary means of foreclosure. The rest are non-judicial states, where foreclosures are usually handled by attorneys who follow a state-provided process.

Blomquist said foreclosure activity in most non-judicial states remained on a downward trajectory in August. He said the increases in Florida and Illinois supplanted the nonjudicial states of Arizona, California, Georgia and Nevada. Previous to August, the nation's top two state foreclosure rates have been from those four non-judicial states every month since December 2010, he said.

"In Illinois, you still have a fairly weak economy in many parts of the state and higher unemployment rate," Blomquist said. "That is not helping the situation by any means."

Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.

Foreclosures filed in the metro-east

2012 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

St. Clair 128 109 121 126 119 119 135 109

Madison 115 130 131 131 112 172 137 134

2011 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

St. Clair 132 101 109 81 117 101 87 112 90 91 95 148

Madison 116 109 104 77 90 95 75 91 109 80 86 70

2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

St. Clair 159 127 167 146 129 148 137 130 142 145 120 119

Madison 127 114 146 130 135 125 105 143 147 129 99 141

2009 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

St. Clair 122 119 163 39 26 94 97 95 109 157 140 122

Madison 153 130 145 51 41 77 102 94 116 128 146 134

Source: St. Clair County/Madison County

Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.