October 21, 2009

After the banks created our economic crisis, we, the people, bailed them out - to the tune of $15,000 for each adult and child in the United States. But where is our recovery Some members of the American Bankers Association, in Chicago for a convention, are touring the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio on Monday, Oct. 26. The bankers' association, which represents the "mega banks" that control more than 80 percent of bank assets, dumped us into the "Great Recession," forcing some students to forego college, some seniors to forego retirement and everyone to forego a sense of well being for the foreseeable future.

Last year 208 properties in Oak Park went into foreclosure; this year it is projected to be 162 properties, with many more to come in 2010. That's 370 families leaving Oak Park! What a hardship! What a loss to all of us! Despite predatory lending, a stock market crash and bringing the world to the brink of collapse, the bankers' association is lobbying to dilute and, if possible, defeat the proposal to create a Consumer Finance Protection Agency.