Full text of Economic Development News & Views (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) : Economic Development News & Views, Volume 6, Number 3

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

Economic Development

News &Vıews
Published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Consumer and Community Affairs Division

CDFI Fund awards $44.8 Million
to Financial Institutions
Volume 6 Number 3
October 2000
Inside this Issue:

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund has distributed $44.8 million under
the 2000 Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program to 158 insured depository institutions. The average
award was $283,651.

New Bank Boosts Neighborhood
Indiana Launches Website
CDC Invests $100 Million
LISC/Chicago Announces
Grants
LISC Aids in Mission
Chicago Organizations
Honored
Lawndale and Little Village
Family Reource Centers
ACCION Chicago’s Microlending
Network Growing
New Accounts with IRS Refunds
Women in Business
Plastic Industry Pioneer
an Inspiration
DEI Youth Entrepreneurship
Brownfield Redevelopment Breaks
Ground
From Our Research Department
Your Views
Partnerships to Expand
Education & Assets
Calendar

Activities Supported
Awardees supported a variety of activities in
distressed communities, including:
• A $1,000,000 line of credit to finance the
rehabilitation of the Uptown Theatre, an
historic landmark in a distressed
community in Chicago.
• Technical assistance to several Native
American tribal governments to increase
access to credit on tribal lands.
• Loans to finance the rehabilitation of
multi-family residential buildings in
distressed communities.
• A $400,000 investment in a quasipublic corporation that supports
businesses located in three
Economic Development Zones.
• Mortgages to homeowners in distressed rural areas.
The CDFI Fund was created in 1994 to expand the availability of credit, investment capital, and financial
services in distressed urban, rural and Native American communities. The Fund stimulates the creation
and expansion of CDFIs and provides incentives to traditional banks and thrifts, through the Bank
Enterprise Award (BEA) Program.

Continued on page 2

CDFI Fund continued from page 1
The Fund’s investments work
toward building private markets,
creating healthy local tax revenues,
and empowering residents. The
Fund’s activities leverage privatesector investments from banks,
foundations, and other funding
sources.
Support to CDFIs from
BEA Awardees
One hundred forty-eight certified
CDFIs received support from the
158 BEA Awardees. For example:
• The Oklahoma Metafund
received almost $9 million in
equity-like loans from 19 banks
and thrifts throughout the state
of Oklahoma. The Metafund
is a start-up non-profit multibank community development
corporation whose mission is
to provide business financing
and related development services in distressed and underserved communities throughout Oklahoma.
• Louisville Community Development Bank received over
$2 million in deposits from 18
banks and thrifts throughout
the country to support its
efforts to stimulate economic
growth in distressed neighborhoods within the city of
Louisville, Kentucky.
• Self-Help Ventures Fund
received $45,000,000 in loans
from five different banks and
thrifts to support its efforts to
provide home, small business,
and community facilities financing to minorities, women, and
rural residents throughout the
state of North Carolina.

Activity Level
Of the 158 financial institutions
receiving this year’s awards:
• 55 provided $1.1 billion in
loans, investments and services
in distressed communities.

Institutional Diversity
and Size
BEA awards went to a variety of
institutional types:

Awardees provided financial or
other support to CDFIs located
in 27 states and the District of
Columbia. ■

• 73 state-chartered-banks;

For additional information on the
Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund and its programs,
contact the fund at 202/622-8622
or the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago,
Consumer and Community Affairs
Division, 312/322-8232.

• 58 national banks;
• 98 provided $201.2 million in
loans, deposits, and technical
assistance to CDFIs.
• 74 provided $32.8 million in
equity investments or grants
to Community Development
Financial Institutions (CDFIs).
• 26 institutions are in the
Federal Reserve Bank of
Chicago’s District, and
• 21 of the FDIC-insured
depository institutions are
also certified CDFIs.
Activity Compared to Baseline Period
When comparing the assessment
period of January 1 to June 30,
2000, to the baseline period
(same months in the prior year),
awardees:
• Increased their loans, investments, and services in distressed
communities by a total of
$166.1 million;
• Increased their loans, deposits,
and technical assistance to CDFIs
by a total of $77.9 million; and
• Increased their equity investments or grants to CDFIs by a
total of $31.9 million.

• 25 federal savings bank or
savings associations; and
• 2 mutual savings banks.
These institutions varied in size:
• 69 have total assets of $250
million or less;

The next issue of Economic Development News & Views will have
expanded coverage on the Bank
Enterprise Awards and programs
of the Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund.

• 25 have total assets of between
$250 million and $1 billion;
• 64 have total assets over
$1 billion.

Communications
Advisors: Alicia Williams
Editor: Harry Pestine
Economic Development News & Views welcomes story ideas,
suggestions, and letters from subscribers, lenders,
community organizations, and economic development
professionals. If you wish to subscribe or to submit
comments, call 312/322-8232 or write to:
Economic Development News & Views
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Consumer & Community Affairs Division
230 S. LaSalle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604-1413.
The material in News & Views does not necessarily
represent the official policy or views of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Economic Development News & Views – ISSN: #1083-1657

2

New Bank Boosts Neighborhood’s Commercial Revitalization

For the first time in nearly 30 years,
residents of Chicago’s Auburn
Gresham community have a local
bank. Mayor Richard M. Daley
joined LaSalle Bank at a press
conference and ribbon cutting to
officially open the new, full-service
bank branch at the intersection
of 79th Street and Halsted.
“This branch opening culminates
three years of hard work through
a partnership of organizations
committed to improving the
Auburn Gresham community,”
says Norman R. Bobins, Chairman,
President and Chief Executive
Officer of LaSalle Bank. “There
are visible signs of positive change,
vitality and economic momentum
in this neighborhood. Our bank
will work to continue this momentum by giving local business owners
and residents resources they can
use to enhance their lives.”

plans calling for a new family
restaurant, a day care center and
a health facility.
“When groups work together,
communities can accelerate their
revitalization pace,” explains
Mayor Daley. “What would have
taken the community a decade
to accomplish on their own was
completed in less than three years
through a committed public/
private partnership.”
Joining LaSalle Bank and the
Mayor at the press announcement
were several other groups who
have played instrumental roles
in the community’s revitalization.
A few of the additional partners
included past and current aldermen; a local church; Ted Wysocki,
President of the Chicago Association of Neighborhood

Development Organizations
(CANDO); and Patricia P. Bell, a
director of the Demonstrating
Enabling and Empowering
Development (DEED) program,
a project of CANDO.

The Auburn Gresham community
is located on the city’s south side,
bounded on the west by Damen
Ave., on the south by 89th Sreet,
on the east by Vincennes and on
the north by 75th Street.

“The Bank has worked with the
community and its leadership
during the past three years and
heard their concerns. Our banking services will reflect the needs
of the community and include
a series of consumer education
programs,” says Betty J. McCann,
a LaSalle vice president and
manager of the new bank. “We
will continue to serve as a catalyst
for both residential and commercial economic development and
participate in critical projects that
will enhance the neighborhood.”

Patricia Bell, of DEED is a former
resident of the community. She
says the community is “not poor”,
but “definitely underserved”. “The
median income is about $32,000.”
She says, “but we don’t have a
viable commercial district. It looks
run down and, until recently,
that perception kept private
investors away.”

The branch will be open six days
a week. It will have drive-up banking facilities, a vestibule ATM, and
a drive-up ATM. It will provide
customers with retail banking,
commercial banking, and lending
and mortgage services. The branch
will have a LaSalle Financial Services investment representative
available for appointments with
customers who are looking for
personal financial advise and
planning assistance.

DEED was designated as a local
community empowerment vehicle;
the organization worked with the
former Alderman Terry Peterson
to establish a community redevelopment advisory council with
local leadership representing the
block clubs, clergy, law enforcement, educators and local business
people, among others. CANDO
initially approached LaSalle Bank
to consider locating a branch in the
Auburn Gresham community. ■
For additional information on
the DEED, and other partnering
and development programs,
contact Patricia Bell at CANDO,
312/372-2636.

The new 5,000-square-foot, fullservice branch is serving as a
catalyst for other community
revitalization efforts in the Auburn
Gresham neighborhood. Across
from the bank branch is a new
Osco drugstore and the new
Gresham district police station
is just a block away. Further west
on 79th Street an 80-unit senior
housing facility is under construction, with additional development

3

Indiana Launches Website for Economic Development
A new Internet site, operated by
the Indiana Department of Commerce (IDOC), launched Indiana’s
high-tech effort to attract and
retain businesses.

economic climate. With a few
clicks, they can compare Indiana’s
location, tax rates, worker training,
and utility costs to those around
the nation.

Launched on June 1, the site —
www.indianaINsites.com — is a
new interactive online tool that
provides business site selection
representatives with direct access
to local IDOC development officials in all 92 counties in Indiana.

“This new site will significantly
reduce the amount of time companies spend researching possible
sites for expansion or relocation,”
said Lt. Governor Joe Kernan,
Director of the Indiana Department of Commerce. “The site will
improve our ability to market
Indiana’s economic advantages
to companies across the country
and around the world.”

At the site, companies and consultants can specify individual
requirements for their business
needs and then search this Midwestern state for development
locations that best match those
needs. The site also enables
companies to conduct basic online
research regarding Indiana’s

The Indiana Department of
Commerce is the lead economic
development agency in the State
of Indiana. The department helps
businesses grow; helps workers

gain new skills and new opportunities, and helps communities
improve their infrastructure,
competitiveness and efficiency.
Commerce also strengthens
Indiana’s business environment
through promoting international trade, energy efficiency,
and tourism.
In 1999, the Department of
Commerce helped 210 companies
locate or expand in Indiana. Those
projects created approximately
18,000 jobs for Indiana workers,
helped sharpen the skills of more
than 51,000 current employees
and leveraged more than $5.4
billion in capital investments. ■
For more information, contact Kevin
Waltman of the Indiana Department
of Commerce, at 317/232-2464.

Finance

CDC Invests $100 Million in Fort Wayne Area
The Community
Development
Corporation of
Fort Wayne (CDC)
has reached the
milestone of supporting $100 million in investment in the Fort
Wayne area.
Mayor Graham Richard joined
CDC President Marcia Conley and
local business and community
leaders in making this announcement at a recent open house
at CNC Industries’ new Fort
Wayne facility.

4

CNC Industries constructed
its $1.4 million state-of-the-art
machining facility in the Edgewood II Industrial Park, in part,
with a CDC loan through the U.S.
Small Business Administration.
“I am pleased to join the CDC in
making this milestone,” Mayor
Richard said. “The entrepreneurs
assisted by the CDC are a core
part of Fort Wayne’s community.
Locally owned businesses add
stability to our employment base,
and programs such as those of
the CDC are an important aspect
to our overall economic development efforts.”

The CDC has made more than
400 loans totaling $28.6 million
to Allen County businesses since
its inception in 1978. These loans
have leveraged another $71.8
million in private investments.
Projects financed by the CDC
have lead to the creation of about
2,300 jobs.
“We are very proud of our accomplishments,” Conley said. “It is our
goal to continue to be a partner
to help businesses in the community grow.”
The CDC is a City of Fort Wayne
supported non-profit business
development organization serving

Fort Wayne and Allen County.
Its primary purpose is to provide
loans to small businesses that are
unable to qualify for conventional
commercial financing. ■
For more information, contact Karen
Goldner, Community Development
Corporation, at One Main Street,
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802.

LISC/Chicago Announces First Half Grants

These grants represent an intensification of LISC/Chicago funding of community facilities, as the
corporation recognizes the need
to consolidate community redevelopment through the creation
of public spaces and facilities.
One of the LISC grants was a
$98,000 loan to the Westside
Health Authority (WHA) to cover
the acquisition cost of a 45,000
square-foot facility in the Austin
community. The facility, which
will house a family health center,
social services, and job training,
is expected to bring at least 200
new jobs to the community.
For nearly a decade, the WHA
has promoted health and wellness services to West Side residents
from a broad perspective their
interests have ranged from housing to crime to physical health.
WHA has worked to develop or
remove decaying properties.
Their goal is to foster a sense of
pride, responsibility and solidarity
among community residents,
who for years had languished in
a community rife with neglect
and disrepair.
Recognizing two pressing community needs — childcare and
employment, LISC/Chicago has
also awarded a $25,000 grant to
study the potential for creating

home-based family day care
cooperatives. The study will
consider factors such as market
demand, potential scope of services for home-based day care
providers, management and
overhead structure, projected
revenue, expense, growth
potential, and profitability.
The study will be conducted
by the ICA Group, a nonprofit
consulting firm that specializes
in community-based enterprise
development.
“People want to improve their
communities,” said Andrew
Mooney, Senior Program Director
of LISC/Chicago. “By working
with community organizations
to rehabilitate livable, affordable
housing, create job training
opportunities, and establish
health care and social centers,
LISC/Chicago has been able
to participate in some highly
inspirational success stories
throughout the city.”
“Make no mistake, we simply
provide funding and other
support mechanisms,” Mooney
added. “It is through the desire
and dedication of local community residents that these
successes have come about.”
In addition to its funding of community facilities, LISC/
Chicago has made housing grants.
The single largest grant —
$405,000 — was awarded to the
Bickerdike Redevelopment
Corporation for the extensive
rehabilitation of an 18-family
cooperative in the West Humboldt
Park neighborhood. Bickerdike,
which is one of Chicago’s oldest
community development organizations, has long been responsible for ensuring a place for
working class families in the
rapidly changing Humboldt Park,

West Town, and Logan Square
areas. The National Neighborhood
Coalition recently awarded
Bickerdike with a Neighborhood
Leadership award for its successful
maintenance of mixed income
neighborhoods.
In a grant designed to stimulate
housing development, LISC also
awarded $70,000 to the Woodlawn Community Development
Corporation (CDC) to jump start
the development of Woodlawn
Park, a 140-unit market rate forsale housing development to be
built on 63rd Street, between
Kenwood and Ingleside.
Woodlawn Park is the centerpiece of the redevelopment of
Woodlawn. Plans for the development, and related housing and
commercial developments along
the 63rd Street Corridor were
announced in spring of 1999
following the removal of the
elevated tracks that for more than
half a century had dominated
the area.
LISC is the single largest non-profit
investor in the city. Since its creation in 1980, LISC/Chicago has
invested some $125 million in
redevelopment initiatives undertaken by the more than 100
community development groups
with which it partners in the
greater Chicago area. In turn,
these investments have been
used to leverage other private
sector and government funds to
create more than $2 billion of
housing and commercial development throughout Chicago.
LISC/Chicago is part of the
National LISC family created
nationally by the Ford Foundation
in 1979 and headquartered in
New York City. LISC is the nation’s
largest community development

intermediary, raising funds from
private corporations and investing
them in the development work
of non-profit community organizations. It supports nearly 40
program areas throughout the
United States. In the 20 years since
its inception, LISC has raised and
invested more than $2.5 billion
for the development of over
60,000 affordable homes and
apartments and approximately
10 million square feet of medical,
retail, and industrial and commercial space. ■
For additional information contact
Andrew Mooney, Senior Program Director of LISC/Chicago at 312/360-0400.

www.frbchi.org

on the web

The Federal
Federal Reserv
Reserve Bank
of Chicag
Chicago's web
web site offers
offers
a wide variety of timely
timely
and unique information,
information,
including:

www.frbchi.org

Local Initiatives Support Corporation/Chicago (LISC/Chicago),
the City’s largest community
development support organization, has announced its grants
for the first half of 2000. More
than $1.75 million in grants and
loans were awarded to local community organizations in the first
six months of the year, with special emphasis on the creation of
community facilities and affordable housing.

Research
• Economic Data and Research
• Banking Data
Resources
• Educational Resources
Publications
lications
• Pub
Community
unity and Economic
• Comm
Devvelopment Initiatives
Initiatives
• De
Development
• Economic Dev
News
ws & Vie
Views
ws
• Ne
Community
Comm
unity
Reinvestment
Reinv
•
Information
• Act Information
Community
• Consumer & Community
Information
ormation
• Inf

5

LISC Aids in Mission to Facilitate Community Jobs
Local Initiatives Support Corporation/Chicago (LISC) has awarded
a grant to Operation ABLE —
one of Chicago’s most successful
employment training and advocacy
groups. The grant will help to
cover the cost of Urban Careers,
a pilot program aimed at linking
local residents with retail jobs.
The program was initiated by Urban
Investment Trust, Incorporated, a

real estate firm committed to
investing in commercial real
estate projects that improve many
of Chicago’s traditionally underserved communities. The pilot
program will focus on linking
residents with jobs in Lawndale,
Uptown and South Shore.

employees. Since then, Operation
ABLE has adapted its mission to
advocate for employees of all ages.
Currently, 73 staff members aid
more than 7,500 Chicago-area
residents annually through their
central office, technical center,
and five field offices.

The Chicago Community Trust
created Operation ABLE in 1977
as an advocacy group for older

The Urban Careers coordinator,
Charles Woods, works with
participating retailers and local

community groups to assess
employer needs and build a
pool of qualified candidates.
Mr. Woods previously served as an
Employer Services Representative
at Operation ABLE’s One-Stop
Center in Pilsen. ■
For additional information on
Operation ABLE and its programs,
contact Charles Woods at
312/782-3335, ext. 767.

Chicago Community Organizations Honored by BP Amoco
Recognizing the importance of
economic development to the
City, its businesses, and most
importantly, local residents, BP
Amoco has chosen four Chicago
community development organizations among the winners of
the 2000 Leader Awards. Award
recipients received $250,000 to
further their respective programs.
ACCION Chicago was chosen for
its work in community redevelopment and the development of
woman and minority businesses.
By providing small business loans
and technical assistance, as well
as serving as a networking link,
ACCION Chicago has been at
the forefront of redevelopment
through local business initiatives
in Pilsen, Little Village and
surrounding communities.
The Woodlawn Preservation and
Investment Corporation was also
honored for its extensive work in
the Woodlawn Community on the
South Side, especially along the
63rd Street Corridor. In the past,
elevated train tracks hid what was
a dingy strip of abandoned retail
shops and empty lots. Block by
block, however, affordable,
6

attractive new homes are rising,
restoring the beauty and dignity
that once defined this workingclass community.
The New City YMCA Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Council’s efforts to
attract and retain businesses and
to provide employment training
and employment opportunities
were honored by BP Amoco with
a Beyond Performance Award.
Through creative programs
stressing pre-employment and
workforce skills training, coupled
with unique community-industry
partnerships, the LEED Council
has helped over 15,000 local
residents of the Near North Side,
West Town and North River
Industrial Corridor find jobs.
The Woman’s Business Development Center (WBDC) was the
fourth group recognized with a
BP Amoco Leadership Award. It
was recognized for its nationally
renowned programs that provide
services and support aimed at
accelerating women’s business
ownership and strengthening the
impact women have on the economy. The WBDC offers prospective

and current female business
owners assistance on many levels,
including creating viable business
plans, assessing needs and lia-

bilities, procuring start-up and
expansion funds, and completing
the processes for Women Business
Enterprise status. ■

Fed Facts
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of 12 regional Reserve
Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington,
D.C., serve as the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve System.
The role of the Federal Reserve System is to foster a strong
economy and a stable financial system.
The Chicago Reserve Bank:
• participates in formulating national monetary policy,
• supervises and regulates banks and bank holding companies, and
• provides financial services to banks and the U.S. government.
Financial services
volumes (1999)
• Checks processed —
$1.6 trillion
• Automated Clearinghouse transfers —
$2.5 trillion
• Wire transfers —
$53.8 trillion
• Currency received
and counted —
$41.9 billion
• Unfit currency destroyed
— $5.4 billion

Employees
2,060
Assets
$73.3 billion
(as of 12/31/99)
Depository Institutions
in 7G District
3,485
Banks and bank holding
companies supervised
1,325

Lawndale and Little Village Family Resource Centers
High quality, affordable childcare is an asset which can have a
major impact on a community.
Without it, many parents would
be unable to take advantage of
the best job opportunities available to them.
In order to address this important
need, two new Family Resource
Centers will soon begin serving
working families in the communities of Lawndale and Little
Village. The centers will each
provide affordable childcare
with capacity for more than
200 children.

These centers are a result of
a partnership between The
Resurrection Project, Lawndale
Christian Development Corporation and the Carole Robertson
Center for Learning. Each of the
21,000 square-foot facilities will
provide comprehensive day care
services and educational and recreational opportunities. Children
will be nurtured in a constructive
environment conducive to learning, provide nutritious meals, and
have the opportunity to interact
with other children.

As an additional benefit, each
Family Resource Center will
provide approximately 50 jobs
for local residents.
“By offering the convenience
and peace of mind that comes
with good, affordable childcare,
the Family Resource Centers have
the potential to make a major,
positive impact on the communities they serve,” said Andrew
Mooney, Senior Program Director
for LISC/Chicago.

LISC/Chicago provided partial
funding for the projects through
the Illinois Facilities Fund, which
serves as lender and project manager for the centers. Both Family
Resource Centers are expected to
be open by December 1, 2000. ■
For more information, contact
LISC/Chicago at 312/360-0400.

ACCION Chicago’s Microlending Network Growing
Business Investment Corporation
and has access to their facilities
to reach the north side of the city
and Evanston. Their suburban
partner National City Bank has
given them a presence in western
suburbs as well.

For the past six years, ACCION
Chicago has demonstrated a
successful approach to business
lending to low- and moderateincome, self-employed women and
men. The program emphasizes
small business owners’ character
and commitment to the long-term
growth of their enterprises.
With a solid foundation and years
of proven experience, ACCION
Chicago has continued to broaden
its reach. They have made over
700 loans totaling over 3.5 million
dollars. In the first six months
of 2000, ACCION Chicago has
loaned over $700,000, as much
as in the entire year of 1999.
From its start as a business lender
to the largely Hispanic communities of Little Village and Pilsen,
ACCION Chicago has broadened
its reach to underserved, ethnically
diverse neighborhoods of Woodlawn, Kenwood, Austin, Humboldt

Park, Oakland, and West Englewood. The program has continued
to adapt its lending model to
ensure accessible capital. In
addition, ACCION Chicago has
harnessed the private sector, which
provides critical resources such
as loan fund capital, operating
support, and technical assistance.
The program has developed a
satellite-lending model that has,
as its core, solid partnerships

with local banks for referrals and
office space and the use of technology to more efficiently reach
larger numbers of microentrepreneurs. With satellite offices at
First Bank of Americas on 47th
Street and Bank One on 35th
Street, ACCION Chicago is well
on its way to providing loans to
the entire city.
ACCION Chicago has also
partnered with the Evanston

ACCION Chicago’s efforts have
not gone unnoticed. On April 12,
1999 the Woodstock Institute
presented ACCION Chicago the
1999 Community Reinvestment
Award for creative and energetic
work to promote small business
lending in Chicago. More recently,
on September 15, 2000, BP Amoco
presented ACCION Chicago
the 2000 Leader Award, which
includes a $250,000 grant. This
honor will allow ACCION Chicago
to better reach its goals and fulfill
its mission statement. ■
For additional information on
ACCION Chicago’s program contact
F. Leroy Pacheco at 773/376-9004.

7

Low-Income Taxpayers to Open Accounts with IRS Refunds
Earlier this year, the Center for
Law and Human Services, a
Chicago-based non-profit organization, and the South Shore
Bank launched a new initiative to
help low-income families access
banking services and to begin
accumulating assets. The pilot
program was conducted at the
bank’s branch in the Chatham
neighborhood of Chicago.
Many low-income workers don’t
have relationships with banks,
savings and loan associations or
credit unions. They do not have
checking or savings accounts and
are at a disadvantage when seeking mortgages or short-term
loans. If they have a little bit of
extra money it is often hidden
away, but it’s not in an account
earning interest.
In rent-free space in the bank’s
lobby, the Center’s Tax Counseling Project (TCP) provided free
tax-preparation services to families with annual incomes less
than $31,000 and to individuals
who earn less than $15,000. The
primary focus of the free services
was to help low-income workers
claim the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC), a federal tax
break which can be worth up to
$3,816 to a worker with two or
more children. It usually results
in a federal income tax refund.
The project was designed to see
how many low-income individuals who used the free tax-preparation services would be interested in opening savings
accounts with their IRS refunds.
Here’s how the project worked:
When the Tax Counseling Project

8

volunteer completed a tax return
for a client, a South Shore Bank
personal banker invited the client
to consider opening an Extra
Credit Savings Account, a regular
savings account with some additional benefits.
The taxpayer’s refund can be
automatically deposited in this
no-fee savings account which
requires no minimum balance
and pays a standard interest rate
of 2.5 percent. Taxpayers who
signed up for new accounts were
able to obtain South Shore Bank
ATM cards. South Shore waived
its ATM fees for these customers.
As an added incentive, the new
customers became eligible to
receive a one-time 10 percent
bonus of up to $100 at the end
of the year. In addition, they were
invited to attend free moneymanagement classes.

an EITC refund at a currency
exchange, the fee could be quite
high. Instead their money is safely
deposited in the bank where it
earns interest.”
“In fact, low-income individuals
typically pay about 1.85 percent
of the check’s value when they
cash it at currency exchanges
in Illinois,” said Malcolm Bush,
president of the Woodstock
Institute. “At that rate, the fee for
cashing the average EITC check
of $1,400 would be $26.”
Marzahl also noted that the
South Shore Bank ATM card
allows the Center’s client to withdraw needed cash at any time.
“Equally important, they are
establishing a relationship with
their local bank and hopefully
they will be inclined to look to
the bank when they need other
financial services,” he added.

The Center and the bank have
also commissioned the Center for
Social Development at Washington
University, St. Louis, Missouri, to
evaluate the program and to study
the EITC recipients’ attitudes
and perceptions about financial
institutions and services. The
study will also examine variations
in demographics, attendance at
money management classes,
planned EITC use, savings goals
and perceptions of the costs and
benefits of saving.
“We know the EITC is a great
benefit to low-income families,”
Marzahl said. “We are now trying to
find out if EITC recipients will use
their refunds to begin long-term
asset accumulation,” he added. ■
For additional information on
the Center for Law and Human
Services programs call the Center
at 312/341-1666.

The program seems to be working. This tax season TCP volunteers at the bank prepared more
than 450 tax returns and 87 of
those taxpayers established bank
accounts.
“We are trying to reach the
unbanked,” said Jennifer Tescher,
strategy manager for retail delivery at South Shore. “Often we
must overcome people’s past
negative experiences with financial institutions. But now we are
offering new services designed to
make everyone feel welcome,”
she added.
“This is a great bargain for our
low-income clients,” said David
Marzahl, executive director of
the Center. “If a client cashes

Access to Banking Services–Andrew Davis (left), a South Shore Bank personal banker,
helps a new client apply for an Extra Credit Savings Account into which he plans to
deposit his anticipated income tax refund. The bank and the Center for Law and Human
Services teamed up to help low income workers open the savings accounts when the Center’s
volunteers completed their tax returns. It is a pilot project designed to help low-income families get access to banking services and to begin accumulating assets.

Women in Business

Plastics Industry Pioneer an Inspiration
When Martha
Williams struck
out on her own,
she dreamed of
being the first
African-American
woman to own a plastic injection
molding company. Through her
hard work and unflagging determination, Williams is now the
founder and CEO of one of the
nation’s leading manufacturers
of plastic storage and organization products.
In the early 1970s, frustrated with
the low and unsteady wages from
her part-time job in retailing,
Martha, fresh from the Chicago
Housing Authority’s Taylor Homes
and armed with only a high school
diploma, took the long bus ride
from the inner city to the suburbs,
with a hope of finding a betterpaying, steady job in manufacturing. Despite being young, a woman
and black she convinced the manager of a plastic injection molding plant that she could do the
entry-level job that was available.
Within days, Martha was hooked.
The sight of plastic pellets being
melted and molded into useful
products entranced her. Martha
headed to the library where she
spent countless hours reading
everything she could find about
plastics. She had come to the
suburbs for the job and the wages,
but what Martha found was a
fascination with the plastic injection molding process itself. It was
a discovery that would change her
life — and the industry.
Against all odds, Martha’s hard
work paid off. Within eight years
of landing the entry-level job, she

worked her way up to the position
of plant manager. She endured
mergers, acquisitions, and the
skepticism of a series of new owners who sometimes doubted the
abilities of a young black woman.
Martha continued to rise in the
business, helping each new owner
create innovative products and
processes. Yet she thought more
was possible.
Deeply involved in the plastics
industry while at the same time
raising a family, Martha’s keen
eye recognized the need for a
new category of plastic products.
These would be larger, more
durable containers, designed to
accommodate a variety of purposes
and cover a broad range of storage
needs. In 1991, Williams made a
bold decision to strike out on her
own. In the process, she became
the first African-American woman
in the United States to own a plastic injection molding company.
While the company’s sales grew
rapidly, and her products were
praised and widely accepted in
the marketplace, ownership was no
easy road. The start-up was difficult, she made strategic mistakes,
and a protracted shareholder dispute hampered the business.
In August 1997, Michael DePaul,
President of Regent Products
and an occasional customer of
StyleMaster introduced Martha to
his partner in the Regent Group,
William Bailes. The Regent Group
is a multi-faceted company with
businesses in distribution,
importing, close-outs, retailing
and packaging. At DePaul’s urging,
the two worked to forge a Regent
Group/StyleMaster partnership.

Martha Williams, founder and CEO of Stylemaster, speaks at a recent event.

After several weeks, Bailes’ early
skepticism gave way as he began
to see the value of StyleMaster
products as well as Martha’s
unbridled enthusiasm.

major employment center. Completion of Phase I is slated for the
end of 2000. When construction
is completed, the property will
employ more than 400 people.

With sales approaching $50
million, StyleMaster’s growth has
been impressive. By providing
superior service and innovative
products, StyleMaster has been
able to secure partnerships
with retail giants such as Kmart
and Target.

Committed to providing other
inner-city residents with an opportunity for personal advancement,
Martha has worked to inspire
young people. During the process
of acquiring the dumpsite, Williams
worked with students from Maria
High School who did an environmental analysis of the plastics
industry. She is also implementing
a student-mentoring program that
brings young people to StyleMaster
to learn about the company and
its history.

Under Martha’s direction, the
company is building a new $50
million, 1.5 million square foot
facility on Chicago’s Southwest
side. The facility will consolidate
the company’s operation under
one roof. Williams’ insistence
that her company remain
a Chicago business led her to
collaborate with the Greater
Southwest Development Corporation and the City of Chicago to
develop the new facility. One of
the few sites large enough to fill
the need turned out to be an
illegal dumpsite. She is transforming a blighted property into a

When asked by Chicago youth
how she started her company and
what they can do to succeed, she
simply tells them to take “failure”
out of their vocabulary. An extraordinary woman, Martha Williams
is changing the landscape for
plastics, Chicago’s southwest side,
and far more. ■

9

DEI Youth Entrepreneurship Program Evolves
The Detroit Entrepreneurship
Institute, Inc. (DEI), a private
non-profit corporation, has spent
the majority of its ten year history
training adults in entrepreneurial
skills. However, in recent years,
DEI staff has recognized that
entrepreneurship is an increasingly popular, and profitable
career path for people in the very
earliest stages of their working
careers. In 1998, for the first time,
DEI offered an entrepreneurship
training class for a group of teenagers and pre-teens.

ing, marketing, finance, and
management. DaimlerChrysler,
First Federal of Michigan, the
Empowerment Foundation and
Bank One sponsored the entrepreneurship camp. After successfully completing the program,
each participant received a savings
account with an initial deposit
from First Federal of Michigan,
shares of stock funded by DEI,
and a personal computer donated
by the Empowerment Foundation.
DaimlerChrysler and Bank One
underwrote the training activities.

The goal of DEI’s Youth Entrepreneurship Programs is to educate
youth on financial and economic
self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship. The programs provide
youth the opportunity to consider
entrepreneurship as a career
option. The programs also promote early learning about important business topics, such as asset
accumulation, budgeting, and
investment strategies.

The participants learn all aspects
about starting and successfully
operating a business: marketing,
finance, accounting, management,
as well as business plan development. The participants are also
exposed to business etiquette,
business writing, graphic design,
business math, presentation skills,
and leadership.

During the summer of 1998, twelve
young people, ages
10 to 15, participated in two twohour classes. They
learned how to start a business and the responsibilities involved in running a
business successfully. They were
also exposed to practical ideas
about businesses that they could
start at their ages.
Last summer, the program
evolved to a one-week entrepreneurship camp. Seventeen
youngsters, ages 10 to 16, spent a
week at DEI’s facility, four hours
each day. The participants were
exposed to the rigors of starting
a business in more detail. The
training focused primarily on the
fundamentals including account10

DEI’s business consultants, who
have years of experience working
with adult entrepreneurs, also
train the younger aspiring entrepreneurs. The business consultants assist them with the development of individualized business
plans. There is training in business plan development using DEI’s
Business Computer Center and
DEI’s Business Reference Library.
The participants receive individual
instruction in computer use and
library research methods.

Each participant is exposed to
DEI’s Graphic Design Department
and Print Shop. As a mini-internship, they learn about graphic
design, copying, and printing services. They learn how to design,
copy, and print marketing materials for a business: business cards,
flyers, brochures, and stationery.
In addition to learning about
starting and operating a business,
the participants receive instruction
on economic literacy. They learn
about budgeting, credit, savings,
and investments.
The DEI’s Youth Entreprenurship
Program is a part of the City of
Detroit’s Youth Services Program.
The Youth Services Program is
a collaboration of the City of
Detroit Employment & Training
Department and the Family
Independence Agency. This
collaborative effort targets
young clients of the Family
Independence Agency.
The summer 2000 program was a seven-week
entrepreneurial training
program that began in July.
Seventeen young people
between the ages of 14 and 16
participated. They engaged in
classroom instruction, assignments and activities for 30 hours
each week. The participants
received a stipend every two
weeks that was based on attendance and successful completion
of various phases of classroom
instruction, research assignments,
and activities.
In addition to the learning activities, the youths are taken on field
trips designed to enhance the
learning and socialization experience. The group visited small
business owners and government
officials. They also took golf

lessons and had lunch in a fine
restaurant to expose them to
activities and places where business deals are discussed and made.
The majority of the participants
had never been exposed to these
activities and places.
The second of DEI’s youth
programs is part of the Youth
Opportunity Movement, commonly known as YO! The program
is funded under a grant from
the U. S. Department of Labor.
Participants in the program are
between the ages of 14 and 18
and live in the City of Detroit’s
Empowerment Zone.
After successfully completing the
eight-week training program,
each participant received a savings account and a mutual fund
investment account. The participants form investment clubs that
meet monthly. Monetary incentives will be deposited directly
into the mutual fund accounts.
The amount of the deposit will
be based on attendance at the
meetings as well as achieving and
maintaining good grade point
averages in school.
Both of DEI’s Youth Entrepreneurship Programs focus on
learning economic and financial
self sufficiency principles at an
early age. Both programs are a
means to break the generational
cycle of poverty and dependence
on the welfare system. DEI
believes that by reaching, teaching and exposing youth to economic and financial opportunities,
they will grow to become productive adults. ■
For additional information on the
Detroit Entrepreneurialship Institute
and its programs, contact the Institute
at 313/961-8426.

Brownfield Redevelopment Breaks Ground
For nearly a decade
a vast track of contaminated vacant
land on Chicago’s
south side stood as
a symbol of neglect
and hard times.
Now the 63-acre site was officially
reclaimed when ground was
broken for Gateway Park, an
industrial complex that is the
result of the collaboration between
the Greater Southwest Development Corporation, a non-profit
organization, the City of Chicago,
and the owners of Gateway Park,
LLC. The project will bring
hundreds of jobs to Chicago’s
southwest side.
Two tenants will anchor Gateway
Park: StyleMaster, Inc., one of
the nation’s only manufacturing
companies owned by an AfricanAmerican woman, and the Regent
Group, parent company of Dollar
Junction.
“What we celebrate is more than
the creation of new buildings or
jobs,” exclaimed Mayor Richard
M. Daley at the groundbreaking
ceremony attended by community
residents, city officials, surrounding
manufacturers, and StyleMaster
customers such as Kmart and
Target. “We celebrate the tenacity
of a community, the vision of a
great corporate leader, and the
partnership of Chicago’s community leaders, businesses and
government,” Daley continued.
Long vacant, the site was a location
for the illegal dumping of tons of
broken asphalt, concrete, roofing
shingles and automobile parts.
When area residents learned the
federal government had no cleanup
plans, they were unwilling to let
their community stand as a mon-

ument to neglect. In the mid 1990s,
with the help of the Greater Southwest Development Corporation—
a nonprofit community group —
they forged a partnership with the
City of Chicago to find a privatesector partner with whom they
could transform the site.
In June 1998, their work paid off.
Martha Williams, the founder and
CEO of StyleMaster, was looking
for a Chicago site for her new
production facility. Raised in a
Chicago Housing Authority development, Martha was determined
to build her plant in a location
that would allow inner city youth
an opportunity to prosper. The
Chicago Department of Planning
and Development created the
partnership, and used a variety of
tools ranging from Tax Increment
Financing (TIF) funds to environmental clean-up dollars.
“It is a thrill to stand here today
with all of you who have worked
hard to make this development
possible,” Williams said. “I want to
thank my partners from the Regent
Group for supporting my insistence
on building in the city, Mayor Daley,
Commissioners Christopher Hill
(Department of Planning) and
William Abolt (Department of
Environment) for their invaluable
partnership, and Jim Capraro and
the Greater Southwest Development Corporation, not only
for helping me, but for fighting
for the jobs and resources their
community needs.”

“StyleMaster and Gateway Park
will long stand as a testament of
the triumph of community
involvement, progressive business
and good government,” added
Capraro. "I am confident this will
be the cornerstone of the economic
redevelopment in this community
and a source of pride for many
generations to come.”
Chicago Alderman Ed Burke
lauded the efforts of all involved.
“One cannot help but feel an
immeasurable sense of pride at the
turnaround that has taken place
here. It is proof that a strong and
active neighborhood, partnered
with a community-oriented corporation and a willing and cooperative
city government can accomplish
great things.”
Because of the size of the property
and the necessity to remove
380,000 cubic yards of debris, the
1.5 million square foot Gateway
Park facility will be constructed in
two phases. The first phase will
encompass 660,000 square feet.
It will also consist of leveling and
cleaning long

vacant land along Columbus
Avenue, from 75th to 77th Street.
When the first phase is completed
by January 2001, StyleMaster
will occupy 460,000 square feet
of corporate, manufacturing
and distribution space with the
Regent Group occupying the
other 200,000.
During the second phase, StyleMaster will expand into an additional 400,000 square foot space.
Existing buildings along 77th Street
will be razed, and an additional
350,000 square feet will be made
available to other manufacturing
and distribution tenants. Assistance in hiring and training for
the approximately 500 new jobs is
being handled by the Mayor’s Office
of Workforce Development.
The cost of development is
approximately $50 million and the
financing involves a $13 million
community development float
loan and $37 million in private
financing. The city provided an
incentive of $14 million in Tax
Increment Financing. ■
For additional information, contact James Capraro, executive
director, Greater Southwest
Development Corporation
at 773/436-1000
extension 111.

“It is my hope,” continued Williams,
"that we will be a beacon to other
companies who will build where
the workforce needs exist and to
be an inspiration to the young
people of our city who need to
know that if they make the effort,
they will be rewarded.”

11

From Our Research Department
Labor Market Conditions in
the Seventh District
The Federal Reserve Bank of
Chicago serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which includes
the entire state of Iowa along
with large portions of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
At the present time, there are 43
Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(MSAs) in the Seventh District.
The U.S. Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) defines the
geographic boundaries of MSAs
as economic areas encompassing
communities that are tightly linked
by a flow of commuters, migrants,
goods and services, and payments.
Unemployment rates are useful
indicators of the labor market
conditions in local areas. The
unemployment rate is defined as
the percentage of adults in the
work force who are not currently
employed but are actively seeking
employment. Importantly, the
work force, and hence the unemployment rate, does not include
workers who are not actively
looking for work. This means
that workers who have given up
looking for work are not counted
as unemployed.

sharp contrast to the 1980s, the
region’s unemployment rate has
been running below the national
average since 1992. While good
news for the region’s workers,
whose wages and salaries are
growing faster, the very low levels
of unemployment are making it
difficult for employers to find
quality help.
Earlier in this expansion, a strong
rebound in our manufacturing
industries, as well as robustness
in construction and services, led
to employment growth in the
region that outpaced that of the
nation. As labor markets in the
region tightened more dramatically in the mid-1990s, the
national rate of employment
growth caught up to, and has since
surpassed, the region’s. With
few signs of any softening in the
Seventh District economy, and
relatively unfavorable migration
trends, employers can expect little
relief from tight labor markets in
the near term.

average seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate for the five
District states was 3.6 percent in
September. This rate is 0.3 percent higher than it was back in
January, yet still below the
national average of 3.9 percent
in September.
With tighter labor markets,
employment growth in the Midwest continued to trail the nation.
Year-over-year payroll employment growth was running around
1.0 percent in the District in September, about half of the national
rate of growth. This continues
the pattern of very slow employment growth that began back in
mid to late 1999. Most evidence
suggests that the lack of available
workers, not a general slowdown
in overall economic activity, is
the primary force behind relatively
slower growth in the region.
Most anecdotal reports indicate
that Seventh District employers
are still plagued by worker short-

Midwest Unemployment Rate
6

shown in %

Unemployment rates for Seventh
District MSAs are derived from
data provided by the United States
Department of Labor (USDL).
Using definitions and guidelines
established by the USDL to ensure
consistency across state lines, state
agencies calculate MSA unemployment rates on the basis of a
monthly payroll survey and
unemployment insurance records.
The rates used here have been
adjusted to account for normal
seasonal variations.
Currently, labor markets in the
Seventh District are much tighter
than the nation as a whole. In
12

5

U.S
4

Seventh District

3
1995

1996

1997

1998

Labor Market Highlights
After a relatively steady tightening
since 1992, the Seventh District’s
labor markets have been showing
some signs of slackening in 2000,
at least in the numbers. The

1999

2000

ages, higher turnover rates, and
unfilled positions. Competition
for workers remains so intense
that arguments broke out at one
metro area’s local chamber of
commerce meeting with members

accusing one another of “raiding”
each other’s payrolls.
Despite the very tight labor markets, employment costs in the
Midwest remained relatively subdued, though increases are
slightly higher than the national
average. Improvements in productivity, however, have also been
notable. Rising wages present no
problem as long as they are
accompanied by offsetting
increases in productivity. This
has largely been the case in
recent years as evidenced by the
very paltry, if not negative, growth
in the unit cost of labor.
One area of concern expressed
by District employers has been
the rising costs of health insurance benefits. Increases generally
range from the high single-digits
to the low double-digits for most
companies, though there have
been limited reports of much
more substantial jumps. This has
been a particular concern for
small businesses. Higher premiums
are forcing some small businesses
to drop health insurance from
their compensation packages,
but most suggested that intense
competition for workers would
not allow them to do so. Many
employers feel that while
increased productivity has offset
increased wages, it may not be
enough to keep up with increases
in health insurance costs.
In the near term, it appears that
finding and retaining qualified
workers will remain difficult for
employers in the Seventh District.
Improvements in productivity
will keep pressure off the unit
costs of labor, although climbing
health insurance costs may pose
problems further down the line.
Richard E. Kaglic—Economist

Seventh District Labor Markets
Unemployment conditions for September 2000

Green Bay
Wausau
Oshkosh
Saginaw
Sheboygan
Grand Rapids

Flint

Lansing

Madison
Milwaukee

Cedar Falls/Waterloo

Racine
Kenosha

Janesville

Dubuque

Rockford

Sioux City
Cedar Rapids

Benton Harbor

Davenport/
Moline

Chicago

Detroit
Kalamazoo
Elkhart

Iowa City
Des Moines
Kankakee

Peoria

Springfield
Decatur

September 2000

Gary

Normal/
Bloomington Lafayette

Champaign/
Urbana

South
Bend
Kokomo

Terre
Haute

Ann Arbor
Jackson

Fort Wayne

Muncie
Indianapolis

Bloomington

Unemployment Rates (SA)
over 5.5%
4.5 to 5.5
3.5 to 4.5
under 3.5

NOTE: All rates are subject to revision.
13

Your Views

Illinois Partnership to Expand Financial Education and
administered by IDHS are
required to complete 30 hours a
week in approved work activities
such as job training, education,
or community service.
Soon TANF participants will have
the option of fulfilling part of their
work activity requirement by taking a financial education course.

By Dory Rand
Staff Attorney
National Center on Poverty Law
Dory Rand is a staff attorney with the
Chicago-based National Center on
Poverty Law and editor-in-chief of the
Center’s monthly newsletter. She is a
member of the Chicago CRA Coalition
steering committee and chair of its
Financial Services Task Force. She
helped to negotiate and implement
recent CRA agreements with various
financial institutions. She is the coordinator of the FFLIP Coalition.
A diverse coalition called Financial Links for Low-Income People
(FLLIP) has developed a public/private partnership with the
Illinois Department of Human
Services (IDHS) to expand financial education and asset-building
opportunities for welfare recipients
and low-income workers in Illinois.
FLLIP includes banks, advocates,
government agencies, bank regulators, Individual Development
Account programs, job training
providers, adult educators from
the University of Illinois Extension, insurance industry representatives, and others.
Financial education
Participants in the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) cash assistance program
14

The curriculum will include goalsetting and budgeting, credit and
debt, consumer issues and protections, public assistance issues
related to asset accumulation and
protection, financial services and
investments, tax issues such as the
Earned Income Tax Credit,
employee benefits and retirement
savings. IDHS caseworkers will
help to recruit participants and
outside trainers will use interactive methods to teach the course.
Rollout of the course through
IDHS local offices is scheduled
to begin in early 2001. Eventually, the course will be available
on a statewide basis.
How did the FLLIP/IDHS project come together?
The FLLIP coalition grew out of a
meeting in September 1999, convened by the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women in
Illinois, welfare to work committee.
In its year-end report, the Commission endorsed FLLIP’s November
1999 recommendation that IDHS
incorporate financial education
and asset building opportunities
in its welfare to work programs.
FLLIP representatives met with
IDHS Director of Transitional Services, William Holland and others
to propose a public/private partnership to conduct a financial
education and asset building pilot
program at four sites and started

pursuing private foundation funding in the Spring of 2000.
By August 2000 two foundations
had provided grants and IDHS
allocated about $500,000 in FY
2000 TANF funds for the project.
In addition, consulting firm
William M. Mercer, Inc. will
donate the services of research,
investment and communication
specialists to conduct audience
research, develop curriculum
with the University of Illinois
Extension, and to develop a
community awareness campaign
strategy. “Mercer is excited
about this unique opportunity to
partner with FLLIP and leverage
our expertise in an initiative that
will have such an impact on so
many people,” said Karen Greenbaum, Midwest Unit Manager.
IDHS awarded a grant to the
National Center on Poverty Law
as general contractor and fiscal
agent for the project for 2 years.
Individual Development
Accounts
Welfare participants that complete the financial education
course through IDHS and other
low-income workers in selected
sites throughout Illinois will have
the opportunity to put their skills
to work by opening an Individual
Development Account (IDA).
IDA holders have their savings
from earned income matched
by state and private funds. For
each dollar saved by a participant,
the state matches one dollar and
private funds match one dollar.
For example, over two years
a participant that saves $1,000
would have a total of $3,000
to use toward her goal.

Participants will be able to use
their IDA savings for approved
goals such as postsecondary education, start-up of a small business,
or purchase of a home. Because
many welfare recipients, job
seekers and low-income workers
face transportation barriers, participants also will have the option to
use their savings for the purchase
or repair of a car or in connection
with a car loan.
Why is a financial education/
asset-building program for
low-income people needed?
A wealth of information on
financial planning is available on
the Internet and through other
sources but most such information
is targeted to higher-income,
better-educated audiences that
already are familiar with mainstream financial products and
services. Meanwhile millions of
low-income persons operate outside the financial mainstream.
There are a number of reasons
why financial education and assetbuilding opportunities targeted
to this population are needed.
Most welfare recipients receive
their monthly cash benefits
through electronic benefit transfer to debit cards (called Illinois
Link in Illinois). Although direct
deposit of cash benefits into a
bank account is available, few
recipients take advantage of that
option. Recipients that do not
have a deposit account must pay
a surcharge for withdrawing funds
from an automated teller machine
(ATM) when using their debit
card. Welfare recipients and lowincome workers that learn to open
and manage a bank account could
save hundreds of dollars a year
compared to the high costs of
transacting business at currency
exchanges, check cashiers or ATMs.

Asset-Building Opportunities for Low-Income People
Parents need good financial
skills to pass on to their children.
People who do not have
accounts with mainstream financial institutions are less likely to
save for short-term emergencies
and long-term financial goals. In
situations where a middle-class
person might use a credit card
for an emergency, a person without a credit card may have to
resort to a high-cost payday loan
with multiple rollovers.
Employees’ financial problems
can lead to less productivity at
work in the short run. Workers’
lack of financial skills also hurt
them in the long run as it keeps
them from taking advantage of

grams that are working to expand
access for low-income people to
mainstream financial services.

Development of financial skills and
habits can help lower-income
people build assets that will not
only improve individuals’ standard
of living but also contribute to
a higher quality of life for their
communities by helping them
to buy or repair a home or start
a business that provides jobs.

How can financial
institutions help?
Financial institutions can support
this exciting new project by contributing towards the FLLIP/IDHS
private matching fund that helps
low-income workers meet their
financial goals through the IDA
program. Approximately $175,000
in private matching funds is
needed to launch the IDA part
of the project.

“Money management and consumer skills are critically important for all families. Savings
improve household stability by
cushioning economic setbacks
that can leave families with no
other option but to seek public
assistance,” Holland said.

In addition, financial institutions
can provide volunteer trainers or
work with other financial education
trainers to make their free or lowcost basic savings and checking
accounts available to program
participants. Financial institutions
also can provide grants to pro-

For more information contact Dory
Rand, National Center on Poverty
Law, at 312/263-3830 ext. 228
or doryrand@povertylaw.org.

employer-sponsored investment
and retirement options.

These activities would not only
help the FLLIP/IDHS project,
but also generate good will and
customers for the financial institutions as well as favorable consideration under the Community
Reinvestment Act’s services and
investments tests. ■

Calendar
• Regulatory Issues
• Internet Opportunities
• CDFIs, Banks and You
For more information, please contact
the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago,
Consumer and Community Affairs
Division at 312/322-8232
National Community
Capital 2000 Conference
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 1–4, 2000

Seizing Opportunities
in a Changing Financial
Landscape Community
& Economic Development
Conference 2000
The Westin Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
October 30–November 1, 2000
Topics include:
• The Impact of Financial
Modernization
• Economic Development
Strategies
• Using Risk-Based Pricing

The conference features training
sessions specifically developed
for CDFI investors and funders.

Remaking Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
November 30–
December 1, 2000
The purpose of the Forum is
to provide an opportunity to
share information that is or
could be instrumental in increasing local and regional capacity
to address key policy issues.
For additional information, contact Lauri Alpern at the Great
Cities Institute 312/996-8700
or look at the website at
www. oceps.uic.edu/gcwforum8.

Housing Justice:
Restore the Dream
Statewide Housing Action
Committee
Springfield, Illinois
November 14–15, 2000
For additional information,
contact Michael Burton, at
312/939-0674
National Small Stores
Institute
Nashville, TN
October 29–
November 1, 2000

For further information, please
contact Adina Abramowitz,
National Community Capital
at 215/923-4754, ext. 205.

Real Estate Project
Readiness Workshop

Demystifying the
Digital Divide

Chicago Community Loan
Fund Chicago, Illinois
November 9, 2000

A must for main street coordinators, SBDC staff, extension
specialists, chamber executives,
and community professionals
charged with helping small
rural or urban retailers build
their businesses.

Federal Reserve Bank of New
York New York, New York
November 9, 2000

For additional information,
contact Cat Dean, at
312/345-1770 ext. 14

For further information, contact,
the National Retail Federation
Foundation, 202/626-8130.

For additional information, contact
Sabrina Su, at 212/720-7841
15

Recycled Paper

Consumer and Community
Affairs Division
Federal Reserve Bank
of Chicago
230 S. LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60604-1413

Economic Development
News &Vıews is published
three times a year by the
Federal Reserve Bank of
Chicago, Consumer and
Community Affairs Division.
Please address all
correspondence to:

Volume 6 Number 3
October, 2000

News &Vıews

Economic Development

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
CHICAGO, IL
PERMIT NO. 1942