Last week’s Small Business Town Hall with Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, Rep. @gonggershowitz.bsky.social, Senator Laura Fine, and Commissioner Samantha Steele was a great opportunity to connect with local small business owners and learn more about their experiences with accessing financing.

The Woodstock Report on WVON 1690 AM returns this Wednesday, February 4 at 8:20am! Rep. Kam Buckner will be on this week to discuss the Small Business Financing Transparency Act, which would codify critical lending protections for IL small businesses. Listen here: www.iheart.com/live/wvon-16...

https://www.wandtv.com/news/statehouse/advocates-call-for-il-small-business-loan-transparency-plan/article_299307ee-90a4-49a3-b62a-75518a0df2ff.html 

Our efforts to pass critical lending protections for Illinois small businesses were featured on @wandnews.bsky.social. "In 2023, a growing number of business bankruptcies were directly tied to merchant cash advances and similar products," said Rep. Kam Buckner. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r5n...

"The share of Financially Vulnerable households in Cook County decreased from 19% in 2022 to 18% in 2025, including notable improvements among Black (39% to 33%) and Latino residents (30% to 26%)." www.cct.org/research-and...

Illinois legislators and consumer advocates want to hear from small business owners about their experiences with financing their businesses and accessing capital. Free breakfast from Habibi In will be provided! Register here: evanstonthm.eventbrite.com

“This idea forces credit card companies and banks to make less money... then you’re going to see them take a number of actions to limit those losses and try to find different ways to make money," said Woodstock President & CEO Horacio Mendez. news.wttw.com/2026/01/20/t...

Leader Kam Buckner joined small business owners & advocates this morning at the Illinois State Capitol to amplify the Small Business Financing Transparency Act. Learn more and watch the full press conference here: woodstockinst.org/press-releas...

The President’s 10% rate cap proposal would be a windfall for payday, auto title, and predatory installment lenders. In contrast, in states like Illinois that have imposed a cap for nearly all types of consumer loans, it’s consumers who enjoy the windfall. woodstockinst.org/press-releas...

This is great news and we’re glad to see the Trump Administration is being forced to keep the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on life support. However... www.americanbanker.com/news/vought-...

We oppose provisions of the CLARITY Act, expected to reach the Senate floor as early as next week, and the Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025 that would preempt state level consumer financial protections and lead to a significant reduction in lending. woodstockinst.org/consumer-pro...

Development folks, check out this open role with SomerCor! SomerCor is a mission-driven nonprofit committed to growing economic opportunity through access to capital and helping small businesses create jobs, invest, and strengthen communities. www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

Our new report shows that demand for home improvement loans has surged between 2021 and 2024 in Cook County and Chicago but that denials outpace originations for most applicants. Access the full report here: woodstockinst.org/research/hom...

A positive development in the ongoing fight over the Trump Administration’s efforts to shut down the CFPB: a federal judge has ruled that the administration must request funding for the agency as required, refuting their latest legal maneuver to starve it of funding. www.npr.org/2025/12/30/n...

We're proud to share our efforts promoting fair housing in Indiana through our work on @fairhousingin.bsky.social's lending data portal, which now covers all 92 counties in the state for calendar years 2019-2024. This data is freely available and downloadable here: www.fhcci.org/data/

FHCCI Uses Data to Advocate for Improved Mortgage Lending Practices Read the full press release on our News page: www.fhcci.org/news/

"In this environment, our request is to respectfully ask the agencies to stop breaking things. Prioritizing stability is the only sensible path forward right now...At this rate, the harm done will take a generation to undo." www.americanbanker.com/opinion/bank...

Redlined communities organized and fought for the mortgage data that proved they were being systemically denied access to loans. Now the current Administration’s attacks on research and racial equity are putting the future of this data at risk.

We had a wonderful turnout at our event, Data as Power: 50 Years of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act! Panelists discussed the past, present, and future of HMDA data and its role in combatting redlining and enforcing fair lending laws.

Woodstock is now on Facebook and Instagram. Follow us today! Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Insta: www.instagram.com/woodstockins...

Thank you to everyone who helped make our inaugural Small Business Financing Conference a success! This event offered small business owners, lenders, civic leaders, and policy advocates an opportunity to connect and confront one of Illinois’s most urgent challenges...

NEW LAWSUIT: Trump’s budget chief & acting head of CFPB has manufactured a funding crisis to completely defund the agency. We're challenging the Trump admin's unlawful attempt to stop the CFPB from doing its Congressionally mandated job by starving it of funding.

A full house for “Data as Power: 50 years of the Home Disclosure Act (HMDA)” in Chicago. Bob Kuttner, Ted Wysocki, & Cal Bradford were all involved in organizing for the 1975 HMDA. Kuttner talks about how his antiredlining work with Sen. Proxmire transformed his life to work on political economy.

"In this environment, our request is to respectfully ask the agencies to stop breaking things. Prioritizing stability is the only sensible path forward right now...At this rate, the harm done will take a generation to undo." www.americanbanker.com/opinion/bank...

President & CEO of @woodstockinst.bsky.social Horacio Méndez starts the day with powerful words, "Data is our power to ensure that self governance towards equal treatment and American freedom was effective, and Disclosure is our weapon to uphold the principle that all should be treated equally."

Starting off the Data as Power: 50 Years of HMDA conference with Episode 4 of Shame of Chicago by Artist in Residence Bruce Orenstein! Follow along with us as we celebrate the anti-redlining movement in Chicago. @woodstockinst.bsky.social Learn more here: woodstockinst.org/event/data-a...

We’re excited to share that in 2026, Great Lakes Credit Union, in partnership with select employers, will roll out a new pilot program offering employer-sponsored small dollar loans, building on the success of similar models in New England, NY, & California. www.chicagobusiness.com/elevate/chic...

We're honored to have Natalie Moore delivering closing remarks at this Wednesday's event, Data As Power: 50 Years of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Tickets are still available! Get yours here: www.eventbrite.com/e/data-as-po...

Join us next Wednesday at @woodstockinst.bsky.social “Data as Power: 50 Years of HMDA” event, where Field Foundation President Daniel O. Ash will moderate a panel on the successes & stumbling blocks of using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data & what’s possible for the future of fair housing.

Get your tickets now for Data As Power: 50 Years of HMDA on Wednesday December 10th! lnkd.in/gZju77Yx In 2020, WBEZ reporters used Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data to discover lenders had invested more in a single white neighborhood than all of Chicago's Black neighborhoods combined... 🧵

The federal government seeks to turn back the clock on decades of progress. Under the guise of “free markets” and “deregulation” that will supposedly trickle down to consumers and create prosperity, schemes to...

Get your tickets for Data As Power: 50 Years of HMDA on December 10th! HMDA data has been essential for combatting lending discrimination. Fair housing leaders will discuss the role of HMDA data in their work and current threats to racial equity and data transparency. hmda50.eventbrite.com

Get your tickets for Data As Power: 50 Years of HMDA: www.eventbrite.com/e/data-as-po... In the event's second panel, fair housing experts unpack the dynamic role HMDA data plays in highlighting community inequities, holding financial institutions accountable, and driving policy change.

Looking forward to this in Chicago. Featuring some folks who were there in the early days of organizing for fair lending and community reinvestment, and talking about the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Many a late night crunching HMDA data for advocacy and research.

Don’t wait! Get your tickets now for Data As Power: 50 Years of HMDA on Wednesday December 10th: www.eventbrite.com/e/data-as-po... In the early 1970s, Chicago communities impacted by redlining organized across racial lines and sparked a nationwide coalition demanding transparency...

Donate to Woodstock Institute today to defend community prosperity and encourage investments in marginalized neighborhoods! Since the 1970s, Woodstock Institute has had a hand in sounding the alarm about housing discrimination in Illinois and beyond.

Don’t wait! Get your tickets now for Data As Power: 50 Years of HMDA on Wednesday December 10th: www.eventbrite.com/e/data-as-po... In the early 1970s, Chicago communities impacted by redlining organized across racial lines and sparked a nationwide coalition demanding transparency...

Thank you to @justeconomy.bsky.social for this excellent write-up on our work! "Woodstock... focuses on fair lending, wealth creation and financial reform efforts to help low-income individuals and communities of color build economic security." ncrc.org/woodstock-in...

Unserious but unsurprising coming from this administration. Consumers deserve better. apnews.com/article/cons...

CHICAGO - Join us on December 10th to celebrate 50th years of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act! HMDA is the result of a grassroots movement that fought to hold financial institutions accountable. Since 1975, HMDA lending data has been an essential tool for combatting redlining and disinvestment.

Nearly 300 IL organizations are calling on HUD to avoid a harmful gap in homelessness funding. Last night, HUD announced a rushed grant competition & major program changes. Our ask: Renew existing grants. Don’t push people back into homelessness. Read more: housingactionil.org/blog/2025/11...

Woodstock Institute is hiring! We are looking for a Fair Lending Research Analyst. The Analyst will analyze financial industry data, contribute to research reports, and maintain interactive dashboards. Send cover letter, resume, writing sample, and references to [email protected]

CHICAGO - Join us on December 10th to celebrate 50th years of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act! HMDA is the result of a grassroots movement that fought to hold financial institutions accountable. Since 1975, HMDA lending data has been an essential tool for combatting redlining and disinvestment.

Register now for the Chicago Urban League's upcoming Bank On event! Bank On is an effort to ensure all Chicago residents have access to bank accounts and financial services. 7% of Chicago residents and 25% of Chicago's Black households are unbanked. Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Tomorrow on WVON 1690 AM at 10:30AM: Carmen Williams from @ilhousing.bsky.social will be on to discuss IHDA's Home Repair and Accessibility Program! Tune in here: www.iheart.com/live/wvon-16...

"'Every Federal Register that gets published has a new land mine' for the banking industry, said Horacio Mendez, president and CEO of the Woodstock Institute. "Mendez added, 'I don’t know what the bank supervision was like in the Stone Age, but it can’t be much worse than where we’re going.'"

The agencies that are in charge of bank supervision have been decimated by staffing cuts and, in the case of the CFPB, are barreling toward extinction which could prompt another financial crisis. From @dylangyauchl.bsky.social: trib.al/je7M5rB

As part of their $265 billion Community Benefits Plan, Capital One has announced the launch of their $25 million Scaling Pathways to Homeownership program. The initiative will support solutions for expanding access to affordable housing. chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate/...

We're heartened to see bipartisan pushback against the White House's attempt to abolish the CDFI fund, which supports community development in underserved communities across the country that lack access to traditional financing.

Our 3rd Annual Legislator Breakfast Briefing was a success! We host this breakfast annually to inform Illinois lawmakers and government officials about that year’s consumer financial protection agenda. A video of the presentation is available here: woodstockinst.org/consumer-pro...