Wednesday, February 19, 2014

DNA Info: Title Loan Store in Chatham Draws Mixed Reaction From Community

8701 S Cottage Grove by Wendell Hutson/DNA Info

Last year Worlee Glover wrote about Speedy Cash coming to the southeast corner of 87th/Cottage Grove. The building it will take over was once an autoshop and it appears the project is coming along nicely. At the same time there are still many in the general community who aren't very happy about the new business.

Wendell Huston of DNA Info has the story:
A vacant auto repair shop in Chatham is being redeveloped into a new title loan store, generating mixed reactions about its value to the community.

The store at the corner of 87th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue is set to open in April and will be the first Chicago store by Speedy Cash, a national lender headquartered in Wichita, Ks.

Ald. Michelle Harris (8th), whose ward includes the store, said it would become the fourth short-term loan store in her ward.

"I would have rather had anything else built there that would have been a fit in for the community," Harris said. "I feel like I don't have a choice [in the matter]. I don't control the process."

She added that she has not had a lot of complaints from her constituents about the loan store.
Noted in the article there are nearby bank branches to this Speedy Cash. Seaway has a drive-in branch and their HQ is nearby. Also PNC is nearby on the southwest corner of 87th/Cottage Grove. In addition in the shopping center anchored by Target in the northwest corner is a branch of Chase Bank. Furthermore to Ald. Harris' comments:
"Traditional banks hold a process for people that have great credit," Harris said. "But what about the population of people that have nowhere to go? What are they going to do?"
In other words, there are people who need money and they wouldn't be approved by a bank. OK, so there is a need whether we may like it or not. What would the community rather see come into the neighborhood if they don't approve of a loan store:
And for that reason Roosevelt Vonil, president of the nonprofit Greater Chatham Alliance, said he is opposed to title and payday loan stores.

"They ... [put] people in a bad position," Vonil said. "What we need around here is a community credit union that has easy lending terms."
....
"We don't need any more title loans or places selling lottery tickets," said [Ann] Gore, 57, who has lived in Chatham for seven years. "I would have preferred a job training center or something to help people find jobs. That's what is missing in Chatham."
Well what do you think? You think there's a need for a loan store? If you don't approve of a loan store, what would you rather see come into the area?

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