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South Side Community Federal Credit Union (SSCFCU) worked with a local church-based group and held a community forum about predatory mortgage lending during the fall of 2006.
 The purpose of the forum was to inform the community about these types of loans, to teach them how to avoid them, and to inspire people to rally against them through state and federal legislation and using the court system. The forum was sponsored jointly by SSCFCU and The Faith Community of St. Sabina. The registration fee was free and the event was open to the public.
The session was moderated by popular WVON personality Cliff Kelley and featured a keynote address by State Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-16). A panel of experts included attorney Lloyd Brooks, attorney Al Hofeld, Jr., Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Director Deborah Moore, and National Community Reinvestment Officer for the National Training and Information Center Michelle R. Taylor.
The forum was designed for people who are interested in home ownership, planning to purchase or refinance a home, currently in a predatory mortgage loan, behind on mortgage payments, and community advocates.
During 2005, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-22) sponsored legislation to establish a predatory lending database pilot program in a 10 zip code area of Cook County. That area has been hit hard by predatory mortgage lending activities and SSFCU serves this same community. The program was designed to gather residential mortgage loan application data from mortgage brokers, loan originators, and title companies, in relation to loans made in the pilot program area.
The legislation took effect on January 1, 2006 and was supplemented by additional legislation effective July 14, 2006, that required the pilot program to commence September 1, 2006. While credit unions are not subject to it, SSCFCU is working in the spirit of the new law to prevent community members from becoming victims of predatory lending, by taking the proactive step of co-sponsoring this educational community forum.
(Note: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich suspended the statutory database program in mid-January; there has been no further action since then. The suspension was implemented because the Governor apparently felt the program negatively affected the real estate market in the area and limited mortgage loan opportunities for consumers).
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