Woodstock Institute President Dory Rand applauded the introduction of the American Community Investment Reform Act of 2010 today by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Rep. Al Green (D-TX), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

New data show that the number of active trial and permanent Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) modifications in the Chicago region continues to drop, surpassing last month’s record low (see our previous analyses). There were 33,346 active modifications in the Chicago region in August 2010, down from last month’s 34,576 and November 2009’s 36,208, the first month Treasury released data by metro area.

The mortgage crisis, spurred by abusive high-cost loans, has devastated families across much of the country. Communities must contend with the considerable social and economic costs of vacant, boarded-up buildings, while families must rebuild their lives after losing their homes.

When most people think of economic insecurity, the first thing that comes to mind is an income that’s insufficient to meet basic needs. Low income is certainly part of the problem, but it leaves out a large and often-overlooked group of people who are one or two unexpected expenses away from an economic crisis: the asset poor. A person who is asset-poor does not have enough assets—home equity, checking and savings accounts, stocks and bonds, business assets, and the like—to cover three months’ worth of basic expenses in the case of an emergency. In a volatile economic climate like today, the asset poor walk an especially tenuous line between security and insecurity.

As the recession drags on, policymakers and community leaders are searching for strategies to encourage job creation, investment in neighborhoods, and a return to economic stability. The findings from our latest report, however, depict troubling barriers to recovery—particularly in communities hit hardest by the financial crisis.

There are sharp disparities in credit characteristics between communities of color and white communities in Illinois, a new report from Woodstock Institute found. “Bridging the Gap: Credit Scores and Economic Opportunity in Illinois Communities of Color” analyzed credit score data from a major national credit bureau for the State of Illinois and found that individuals living in communities of color were far more likely to have “non-prime” credit scores, while individuals in predominantly white communities were much more likely to have “prime” credit scores.

Even though the comment period on CRA modernization is now closed, there are other opportunities to provide input on policies that hold lenders accountable to their communities. Federal bank regulators are holding public hearings on updating the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), which requires mortgage lenders to provide detailed public reports of their mortgage lending activities to regulators and the public (register here by September 15 for the Chicago hearing).

Pages and pages of ratios and figures don’t usually fire up a crowd, but they do affect the rash of foreclosures our country is experiencing and Americans are fired up about that.  One of the driving factors behind the foreclosure crisis was lenders putting unsuspecting borrowers into loans they could not reasonably afford.  Borrowers of color, women, the elderly, and low-income families were favorite targets for these practices. Thankfully, legislators recently passed a bill that includes the modernization of a tool critical to fighting discrimination in the housing market.

Woodstock Institute is proud to partner with Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) to release the results of a national poll on what economic security means to people of all ages--and what messages work to make the case for asset-building strategies. Please join us on September 20 in Chicago to learn how you can more effectively advocate for economic security.

In response to some of the recent criticism of the consumer reporting service mandated by the landmark payday loan reforms passed last spring, I would like to provide a brief history of payday loan reform in Illinois and why this database is so critical to protecting consumers.