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  • Chicago region HAMP modifications reach lowest level since data was reported: July
  • Why we must modernize CRA: We can’t tell if all communities have access to basic banking services
  • Woodstock Institute consulting services can help you understand on-the-ground financial realities so you can better achieve your mission
  • Learn how to hold mortgage lenders and bank regulators accountable by improving the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
  • Under new ownership, ShoreBank’s lending can still make a critical difference
  • From the President: Community leaders demand effective incentives for community investment at CRA hearing in Chicago
  • Why we must modernize CRA: More and more financial activity is taking place at non-CRA-regulated institutions
  • Submit written comments on CRA modernization
  • Wells Fargo improperly charged millions in overdraft fees, judge rules
  • IRS to stop aiding tax preparers who provide high-cost refund anticipation loans
  • Why we must modernize CRA: assessment areas no longer reflect how banks do business
  • Disability community demands economic inclusion on 20th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act
  • Dory Rand joins advocates, Gov. Quinn to usher in new consumer protections from debt settlement companies
  • Woodstock co-sponsors South Side training for upcoming CRA modernization hearings
  • HAMP trends continue while Treasury rejects recommendation to make principal reduction mandatory for participating institutions: June
  • From the President: What’s next with financial reform?
  • Condo foreclosures drive new foreclosure growth in Chicago suburbs, new data show
  • Regional HOPI Plenary investigates different ways of combating foreclosure crisis, looks to the future
  • Woodstock Institute statement on Senate passage of Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill
  • Woodstock calls for limited and temporary expansion of CRA mission to reduce impact of foreclosure crisis, encourage donation of vacant, lender-owned properties
  • Congressional watchdog report finds implementation issues in foreclosure prevention program
  • Advocates thank Governor Quinn for capping payday loan rates
  • How banks can get CRA credit for working to prevent foreclosures
  • Regional HOPI Annual Plenary assesses state of the foreclosure crisis in Chicago region
  • Strong financial reform bill up for consideration in House and Senate
  • Permanent modifications rise and total modifications fall, as new report finds that HAMP performance is better than overall modifications: May
  • Woodstock Institute welcomes new experts to board of directors
  • Governor Quinn signs landmark payday loan reforms
  • From the President: Expanding our time horizons
  • New initiatives could boost small business lending
  • Financial reform shouldn't include loopholes for auto dealers
  • Tell House and Senate Conferees to Support Strong Financial Reforms
  • “Beyond Foreclosures” starts discussion on the wealth gap and how to address it
  • Consumer advocates say landmark payday loan reforms accomplish goal of ending 700 percent loans, breaking cycle of debt
  • It’s easier than ever to stay in touch with Woodstock Institute
  • Negotiations over financial reform shouldn’t weaken consumer protections
  • Ask Governor Quinn to sign HB537 and put an end to 700 percent payday loans
  • Woodstock’s Tom Feltner joins Sen. Dick Durbin in celebrating passage of financial reform
  • Passage of Wall Street Reform bill a major step forward
  • Make sure financial reform stays strong before the final vote
  • From the President: Woodstock addresses Chase CEO at Shareholder Meeting in NYC
  • HAMP activity drops in Chicago as well as nationally: April
  • Speakers announced for “Beyond Foreclosures”
  • TARP-Supported Banks Reduced Lending in Chicago, New Data Show
  • Interstate lending reform proposal promises to level playing field for local lenders, end interest rate exportation by out-of-state banks
  • Guest post: Growth in microfinance field spurs debate
  • Debt settlement reforms pass General Assembly, move to Governor Quinn for enactment
  • Toothless Consumer Financial Protection Division amendment fails
  • Auto dealers are back and looking for a carve-out
  • Consumer advocates cheer as Chase exits refund anticipation loan business
  • Chicago region sees jump in completed foreclosures
  • Chicago area permanent HAMP modifications on the rise, but total activity flatlines: March
  • Teach Children to Save Day helps encourage savings at a young age
  • A strengthened and expanded Community Reinvestment Act would promote recovery, experts say at congressional hearing
  • Citibank, community groups partner to prevent foreclosures on the West Side
  • Pilot savings program shows potential of universal, statewide children’s savings plan
  • Register now for “Beyond Foreclosures: The Impact of the Financial Crisis on the Wealth Gap and Economic Opportunity”
  • Financial reform can’t wait, but neither can jobs
  • From the President: Putting aside for tax time: could seasonal savings plans help low-wealth people pay for tax preparation services without using RALs?
  • Payday loan reform promises to eliminate long-term triple digit interest rates
  • CDFI certification could help new financial institutions meet capital requirements
  • Woodstock staff educate national advocates, fight for reform in D.C.
  • Disability benefits program should encourage, not penalize, savings says new proposal
  • Woodstock recognizes three local economic justice leaders at 25th Community Investment Reception
  • The Community Lending Fact Book: Measuring the recovery, one loan at a time
  • Obama administration announces new assistance for underwater and unemployed homeowners
  • New initiatives keep families in their homes through foreclosure and beyond
  • HAMP modifications on the rise, but slowing every month: February
  • Urgent: Tell Your Senator to Stop the Cycle of Debt
  • Senate financial reform bill embodies consumer protection principles
  • From the President: Illinois Community Investment Coalition fights for financial reform on Capitol Hill
  • Guest blog: Refund Anticipation Loans: Just say no!
  • Educate your communities about the dangers of refund anticipation loans
  • Guest blog: We need consumer financial protection and reform
  • Tell the Senate Banking Committee you support real reform
  • HAMP Loan Modifications Not Making Serious Dent: January
  • OCC releases new RAL policy, but enforcement must be effective to protect consumers
  • AG Madigan Takes On Abusive Debt Settlement Companies
  • New credit card protections take effect
  • Credit to the community: proposals offer new funding source for CDFIs, expand SBA express program
  • From the President: Fair Finance Movement Finds Supporters in France
  • Tax preparers operate with little oversight as refund loan protections go unenforced
  • University of Missouri launches searchable database of free tax preparation sites
  • Despite government interventions, foreclosures continue to climb in Chicago region
  • Tracking the Progress of Federal Loan Modifications: December
  • From the President: RAL Borrowers Need More Protection
  • Energy-efficient mobile home proposal would create jobs
  • With bankruptcies on the rise, Illinois women are likely most affected
  • Save the Date: 25th Annual Community Reinvestment Reception
  • Tax filers in African-American communities 3.5 times more likely to use high-cost loans to get refunds
  • From the President: Urgent Need to Complete Financial Reforms
  • Woodstock Institute Releases 2008-2009 Annual Report
  • Woodstock staff take on new roles
  • Latino groups speak out for financial reform
  • Federal Reserve Chair Stresses Need for Better Regulation
  • Reasonable rates for payday installment loans
  • Tracking the Progress of Federal Loan Modifications: November
  • Federal Reserve names Dory Rand to Consumer Advisory Committee
  • From the President: House Passage of Consumer Financial Protection Agency Bill a Momentous Step Forward for Consumers
  • Foreclosure policy conference highlights diverse approaches to crisis
  • New tax time initiative makes saving easier
  • Your voice is needed today to protect consumers
  • Saver's Credit bill would improve retirement security for lower-wealth families
  • Tracking the Progress of Federal Loan Modifications: October
  • Two victories in the fight against foreclosures
  • Region-wide foreclosure prevention initiative launches web resource, targets vacant properties in South and West Cook County
  • National reformers, local advocates discuss future of financial reform
  • From the President: Dodd proposal strengthens consumer protections, implements CRA
  • Community development lenders face challenges raising capital
  • Credit card issuers use final days before consumer protections to make card terms more deceptive, unfair
  • After lull, Chicago region foreclosures return to first-quarter levels
  • New overdraft bills in Congress propose long-needed reforms
  • House committee approves new financial watchdog
  • Overdraft fees, other products, increase economic insecurity in retirement
  • Bean temporarily withdraws preemption amendment
  • Tracking the Progress of Federal Loan Modifications: September
  • Stop carveout of auto loan industry from CFPA
  • American Union should improve lending, not blame CRA
  • Woodstock Institute joins AG Lisa Madigan in support of a robust Consumer Financial Protection Agency
  • Financial industry contributes $270,000 to Bean campaign as Illinois Dem seeks to weaken new financial services watchdog
  • Preserving Homes and Communities Act proposes innovative action against foreclosures
  • From the President: Regulators and Banks Attempt to Undercut Movement for Consumer Protection and Financial Reform
  • Cautious optimism for federal foreclosure prevention program
  • Banks’ changes to overdraft protection not enough to protect consumers
  • Chicago's communities of color face slower recovery from foreclosure crisis
  • Fragmented regulatory system encouraged loopholes that brought on the crisis
  • IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan Leads Roundtable Discussion on Consumer Financial Protection Reform
  • Tracking Loan Modifications: August 2009
  • Poll: Most In Favor of Consumer Financial Protection Agency
  • From the President: Acknowledging our weaknesses can strengthen financial policy
  • License to deceive: Using psychology to explain financial decisions
  • How the CFPA Would Support Small Business
  • Illinois Attorney General joins 23 AGs in support of new consumer agency
  • Wall Street bets big on long odds in American Casino
  • From the President: Put long-term financial security over short-term profits
  • Foreclosures increase in first half of 2009, but signs indicate interventions having impact
  • New Credit Card Protections Show Potential of Consumer Financial Protection Agency
  • Tracking Loan Modifications
  • Debunking Attacks on Consumer Protection
  • Critics of loan modifications are missing the larger point, and some evidence, too
  • Regulators argue for status quo and oppose the Consumer Financial Protection Agency
  • Letter: Give Watchdog CRA Teeth
  • Subprime lenders find new jobs as questionable loan modification specialists, investigation shows
  • Segregated communities more likely to receive subprime loans, says new testimony
  • From the President: Financial watchdog would promote lower-cost products, consumer choice, and innovation
  • Call in July 14 to protect consumers and community investment
  • Illinois action call on Consumer Financial Protection Agency
  • From the front lines of foreclosure, counseling agencies struggle to meet demand
  • Sweeping, important, and positive changes to the ways in which financial markets are regulated
  • Jobs & Homes Now!
  • Disclosure needed for basic banking, says new report Regulators should tap existing bank data to measure how banks serve low-wealth consumers
  • Consumer protections defeated in House Executive Committee - lenders stall efforts to stop usury in Illinois
  • After stress tests, need for transparency, accountability and oversight of financial products
  • Senate passes credit card reform, Obama hopes to sign by end of May
  • 1Q foreclosure data shows shift to suburbs, Chicago's communities of color still reeling
  • Woodstock's Dory Rand calls for credit card reforms on WTTW's Chicago Tonight
  • Community stakeholders ask the next big question: when will lending and investment in low-wealth communities pick up?
  • Wall Street Journal op-ed misses the mark on CRA
  • CRA successes demonstrate need for future commitments
  • Without CRA, crisis could have been worse says new Fed report
  • Illinois Treasurer adopts community reinvestment policy for state depositories
  • Senator Durbin announces Financial Products Safety Commission
  • Numbers don't support claims of CRA critics
  • Credit card bill clears another hurdle
  • Colbert Spoofs Gutierrez and the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009
  • Frank's federal anti-predatory lending bill not strong enough
  • Woodstock Institute honors Donna Gambrell, Director of the U.S. Treasury's CDFI Fund, at annual Community Reinvestment Reception
  • Woodstock Institute joins Senator Dick Durbin in call for federal interest rate cap of 36 percent
  • Federal Payday Loan Bill Fails to Protect Consumers
  • Woodstock's Tom Feltner calls for rate caps on high-cost installment loans
  • President's retirement savings proposals are little-noticed gems
  • Changing loan terms must be easier
  • TARP transparency and judicial modification are steps in the right direction
  • Concerns about the performance of Alt-A and prime mortgages to take center stage in 2009
  • Local response to payday lending critical as lenders evade Illinois consumer protections
  • Treasury demands bank accountability, finally
  • Expanding the Reach of Our Prosperity
  • TARP for CDFIs? As some banks scale back lending, Woodstock calls for federal money for community-based lenders
  • Fed puts an end to retroactive rate hikes for credit cards
  • Bank regulator agrees to hold public hearing on high-cost, asset-stripping tax refund lending of Kentucky-based Republic Bancorp
  • EveryBlock Chicago and Woodstock Institute partner to deliver interactive block- level maps of foreclosures and lender-owned, vacant properties
  • Lender Owned Largely Vacant Properties Disproportionately Impact Communities of Color
  • Macarthur Commits $68 Million to Foreclosure Prevention and Mitigation in Chicago
  • The Community Reinvestment Act No Smoking Gun
  • Chicago Tonight talks to Woodstock's Geoff Smith and discusses local foreclosures, trouble on Wall Street, and why we need a bailout for home owners stuck in the middle
  • As crisis deepens, Woodstock Institute calls for direct assistance to troubled homeowners
  • Tracking neighborhood foreclosures, Woodstock launches new quarterly online resource
  • Woodstock calls on federal banking regulator to scrutinize tax refund lending
  • New policies needed to get lender-owned properties back into productive use
  • Woodstock Institute Applauds House Committee Approval of the Credit Cardholders’ Bill Of Rights
  • Needed: Local commitment to national credit card reform
  • Fed overdraft loan proposal is one step forward, one step back
  • Basic Banking Needs HMDA-Like Rules
  • FDIC proposal would expand branch services to school financial literacy programs
  • Woodstock Institute Board of Directors Appoints Dory M. Rand President after National Search
  • Foreclosures could impact between 9,644 and 28,923 rental housing units in Chicago
  • Rising foreclosures impact renters, between 10,000 and 29,000 units affected
  • Ohio moves to cap payday loan rates, action needed to protect Illinois borrowers
  • Fed listens to community input and announces public meeting on Countrywide acquisition
  • Federal Reserve Should Hold Public Hearing on Countrywide Purchase
  • Thirty-Five Percent of Mortgages in Foreclosure in 2007 Were Originated Just One Year Earlier
  • Systematic mortgage restructuring plan promises modest but worthwhile impact
  • Consumer Groups Rally Around Mortgage Plan: Federal Regulator Proposes Rate Freeze for Risky Loans
  • Coalition formed to push for hearing on B of A merger and detailed local commitment to Chicago
  • Woodstock Institute receives MacArthur Award
  • Tax refund lenders bow to community pressure, stop offering pre-season tax refund loans
  • New Woodstock Institute Report Raises Serious Concerns About the CRA Service Test
  • Cooperative Credit: Community credit unions drive down the cost of emergency credit
  • From the President: What we need is a meaningful, national standard for mortgage underwriting
  • Congress makes saving for modest income families a little easier
  • Many borrower’s unaware of mortgage interest rate details, consequent foreclosures affect neighbors
  • Connecting to the work force: the case of young people in a low-income community of Rio de Janeiro
  • Why Bank Transparency Matters: a Comparison of the U.S. and the U.K.
  • Rhetoric and Reality: Many Mainstream Credit Unions Do Not Serve Lower Income People

About Woodstock

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• Board of Directors
  • Edward Jacob
  • Steven McCullough
  • Maria Choca Urban
  • Thomas Fitzgibbon
  • Angel Beltran
  • Cheryl Devall
  • Karen Edwards
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  • Megan O'Neil
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