A foreclosed home up for sale in Elgin in 2009. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The number of homes in foreclosure plummeted in both Illinois and the U.S. in February, but despite the slowing flow, many analysts believe the foreclosure pipeline has not turned off yet.

In Illinois, 5,568 homeowners received notices that their mortgages had fallen into default and foreclosure proceedings had been initiated, while 1,471 properties were scheduled to go to auction and another 2,553 homes were repossessed by lenders, RealtyTrac said Thursday.

Altogether, the 9,592 notices related to a foreclosure last month showed a decline of 27.13 from January and 44.59 percent from February 2010. Get the full story »