While there are 16 banks in Oak Park, or one for every 3,200 residents, there is only one in the next door Austin neighborhood of Chicago — for the nearly 98,000 residents who live there, according to local officials.
That has changed now that the Leaders Network Financial branch of Great Lakes Credit Union at 5600 W. Madison St. is open.
The Leaders Network, a collaborative of faith and community leaders with a mission to improve the quality of life on Chicago’s West Side, partnered with Great Lakes Credit Union to bring to Austin a nonprofit financial institution that’s owned by those who use it.
“This new era of financial empowerment will bring local checking accounts and saving accounts and a plethora of financial services for the first time in years in Austin, in this community, where one of every three adults don’t have a checking account or saving account,” said Ira Acree during the grand opening. Acree is lead pastor at Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin and, along with West Side pastors Marshall Hatch and Cy Fields, launched the Leaders Network in 2006.
The new credit union is a big win in the Austin community, where residents have long had inequitable access to banking services and do most of their financial business at currency exchanges, according to officials. And many Austin residents have experienced redlining, or have been refused loans because they live in an area deemed by banks to be a financial risk.
“Today marks a pivotal step towards ending the pain and humiliation of redlining,” Acree said. “Hard-working individuals who work long hours, sometimes for mean bosses at low pay, they will have a fighting chance to secure loans.”
Loans and banking services are only available to members of the credit union. To become a member, you must live in Cook, DuPage or Will County, have a valid government ID and verification of residency. Members also must join the Leaders Network and pay $25 a year before opening an account.
The Leaders Network Financial branch of Great Lakes Credit Union will offer financial literacy education and services from an on-site housing and financial counselor to everyone in Austin, whether or not they’re a member of the credit union.
“Our goal with our new credit union will be to end of the historic disinvestment and disrespect of the people of our communities,” said David Cherry, president of the Leaders Network. “None of us standing here today created the pain and suffering of our people, but we will be the people who will end this suffering, who will end the poverty, who will end the violence, and will finally bring an end to Chicago’s abysmal tale of two cities and create one Chicago, where everyone grows, everyone develops, and everyone will have the opportunity to achieve their dreams.”
A new credit union, despite the odds
The opening of the first Leaders Network Financial branch of Great Lakes Credit Union follows years of difficulties in launching a credit union.
“We don’t have many new credit unions start,” said Tom Kane, president and CEO of Illinois Credit Union League, a state trade association. “It is nearly impossible.”
The reason for that seems to be a combination of high startup funds and navigating complicated bureaucratic processes. A new credit union requires a license from the National Credit Union Administration or a state credit union regulator, which have different requirements.
“I was told many times, ‘It doesn’t happen. New credit unions don’t start,’” said Michelle Collins, the Leaders Network’s strategic advisor, who was instrumental in opening the credit union. “If they start, they fail. If you start one, it’s going to take you five years. It’s going to cost $1.5 million, you have to raise that.”
When Collins got in touch with the Illinois Credit Union League to ask for help in this process, the trade association introduced the Leaders Network to Great Lakes Credit Union. The credit union has 17 locations in Illinois, but its partnership with the Leaders Network Financial is the first of its kind in the state — and possibly the country, according to officials who spoke at the grand opening — where a credit union partners with another nonprofit and co-brands a branch together.
Members of the Leaders Networks’ founding circle came up with much of the funding to open the credit union. Congregants of the Unity Temple in Oak Park donated $6,500 to the Leaders Network in 2021, during the organization’s first fundraising campaign.
While efforts to open the Leaders Network Financial branch of Great Lakes Credit Union span the West Side of Chicago and the western suburbs, officials hope the credit union partnership will spread to other Chicago communities. But first, it has to prove prosperous in Austin.
“I have a challenge for everybody in the Austin community,” said Steve Bugg, Great Lakes Credit Union’s president and CEO. “This initiative is going to be successful based on the small businesses and the individuals in the community. It’s your community credit union.”
Open an account at Leaders Network Financial at 5600 W. Madison St. or online at https://www.glcu.org/about-us/leaders-network-financial/. The Leaders Network Financial branch of Great Lakes Credit Union is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.