Woodstock Institute

 #ThrowbackThursday to Woodstock Institute in partnership with the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, NeighborWorks America, and Opportunity Finance Network, negotiating a $265 billion Community Benefits Plan for the Capital One and Discover merger. Woodstock played an integral role in ensuring equitable access to credit and resources would be invested in Black and brown communities throughout Illinois and across the United States. If the merger is approved, the Community Benefits Plan will make monumental investments in underserved communities that will advance economic justice. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gKjvXydU

We had a great time meeting with Rep. Bill Foster to discuss Illinois's 36% APR loan cap, how it benefits consumers, and the steps we're taking to defend it. Access our report "The Predatory Loan Prevention Act is Working" here: https://lnkd.in/geJxYJ25

#ThrowbackThursday to the City Club of Chicago event “Building Equity: Strategies for Addressing the Racial Wealth Gap Through Housing Policies.” Woodstock Institute President and CEO Horacio Méndez, Kevin Jackson, and other advocates learned about new ways that housing initiatives could address racial equity in Chicago and Illinois.

Our first IL CRA Roundtable event was a success! Woodstock Institute and Housing Action Illinois went to Metro East St. Louis last week to connect with nonprofits, financial institutions, and community stakeholders and talk all things IL CRA (that’s me at the front, apparently talking with my hands). Big thanks to State Sen. Christopher Belt for his bold leadership on this issue and opening comments on Friday, James Miller and Sharon Legenza for being our partners in crime, and Horacio Méndez and Myanno Miller for helping to make this event a success. Truly a dream team. On to the next of these events in Springfield and Chicago in 2025! Stay tuned.

A successful and very well-attended collaboration near East St. Louis, IL between Woodstock Institute and Housing Action Illinois (HAI) to train non-profits, credit unions, mortgage companies and community bankers on the Illinois Community Reinvestment Act. Special guest State Senator Christopher Belt opened the event by emphasizing the unique nature of this law and how it can lead to positive change well beyond Illinois. Big thanks to Jane Doyle (Woodstock), James Miller (HAI), Sharon Legenza (HAI) and Myanno Miller (Woodstock). We'll host 2 more training roundtables in 2025 ... one in Springfield and one in Chicago. Stay tuned.

#ThrowbackThursday – Woodstock President and CEO Horacio Méndez Mendez at Prosperity Now's Prosperity Summit. He helped introduce the Rise Challenge, a competition designed to empower and uplift entrepreneurs of color.

CFPB study finds further evidence of Black small business owners facing an uphill battle accessing credit – Black applicants received less encouragement to apply for loans and were more likely to be steered towards alternative credit products. This dynamic disproportionately drives Black and brown entrepreneurs to unregulated online companies for financing, where a lack of safeguards leaves borrowers more vulnerable to abusive lending practices. https://lnkd.in/gGitTsdi

The IL-CRA sets new standards obligating financial institutions to meet the credit needs of communities they serve, including lower-income communities & neighborhoods of color. Join the IL-CRA coalition at our upcoming roundtable to learn more: http://bit.ly/ilcra-dec6

🙌 Thanks WGN Radio AM 720 for highlighting this important issue! I joined host Mike Stephen to talk about Illinois's Predatory Loan Prevention Act (PLPA) and the harmful rent-a-bank lenders skirting the law to continue charging consumers triple-digit interest rates. Woodstock Institute

Mike Stephen discusses the impact of predatory lending in Illinois with Jane Doyle, senior regulatory policy associate at the Woodstock Institute. (The segment starts at minute 27.)