Media Contact: Diana Pando, 312-498-4067/[email protected]
The Resurrection Project (TRP) and Second Federal Credit Union (SFCU) will host US Senator Richard Durbin (IL) on Friday, November 13^th at 10:45 a.m. He will be speaking to a group of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. The event will take place at the Brighton Park SFCU branch is located at 4281 S Archer Ave., Chicago, IL  60632.
Second Federal Credit Union is a supporter of DACA and provides innovative lending products like its $465.00 consumer DREAMER loan that allows students to finance the cost of applying for the federal government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. More than a loan, this product is helping families stay together and enabling youth to excel in school, build credit, and develop responsible financial habits.
During the recession, many banks failed as a result of the housing mortgage crises. In 2009, Second Federal Savings (SFS), a thrift headquartered in Chicago’s mostly Hispanic Immigrant Little Village neighborhood, received a “Cease and Desist” order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Such an order to a financial institution is the beginning of its death and liquidation.

Since its creation by Eastern European immigrants in the late 1800’s, SFS was a pillar in the Little Village community. For the last 40 years, SFS continued to serve as a dominant neighborhood savings institution and residential lender to a neighborhood now comprised of Mexican immigrants. At the time of its closure in July 2012, SFS had $171 million in assets and a portfolio of 1,100 mortgages.
During the economic downturn, many SFS families faced significant economic and social challenges. In response, The Resurrection Project (TRP), got involved to rescue of SFS. “It was a miracle on 26th Street for the families whose homes were saved,” says Raul Raymundo, TRP’s CEO and Chairman of the Board of Second Federal Credit Union (SFCU). “If we hadn’t acted, hundreds of families would have lost their homes to foreclosure and the neighborhood would have experienced greater destabilization.”
The Resurrection Project, Self-Help Federal Credit Union (SHFCU), the country’s largest nonprofit provider of responsible mortgages and other financial services to low-wealth and underserved communities, and Wintrust Financial Corporation, formed a partnership that transformed Second Federal into the largest community development credit union in the state of Illinois. This was made possible, in part, by a $15 million loan that the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation had previously provided to Self-Help through its $300 million impact investment portfolio.
This fall marks the second anniversary of Second Federal Credit Union’s rescue. As a division of SHFCU, the institution reduced its delinquent portfolio rate from 30% to 13% through strategic mortgage mitigation.
This move allowed Second Federal to preserve home ownership for over 90% of the families in the portfolio. Moreover, Second Federal has disbursed more than $48 million in new mortgages and responsible lending products—auto loans and a total of $8.6 million in consumer loans. These products are meeting families’ needs and helping them avoid predatory lending.
“We are pleased that our longstanding investment relationship with Self-Help contributed to the success of this remarkable partnership with TRP and Wintrust,” said Julia Stasch, President of the MacArthur Foundation. “Since its transformation into a community development credit union, Second Federal has made an immediate and positive impact on the lives of the families it serves and the neighborhoods where they live.”
One of the people impacted by this unique partnership is Livia Zenteno. She purchased a home through TRP’s home purchase program—an initiative that helps families achieve home ownership through education and counseling.
“We learned the importance of our credit score and how to make it better,” said Livia. “It was also valuable to learn about managing credit cards and budgeting.” Prior to taking the credit counseling workshop, Livia had multiple credit cards and was only paying the minimum. With new knowledge and financial skills, she decreased her credit card usage, consolidated debt, and saved money for a down payment.
After successfully completing the workshop series, Livia found a home and secured an immigrant friendly loan through Second Federal with a loan payment that was within their budget. “The home purchase workshop series was an investment in our future,” she said. Today, Livia and her husband are proud first-time homeowners.
“At Wintrust we are proud partners with The Resurrection Project, Self-Help Federal Credit Union, and the MacArthur Foundation” said Edward J. Wehmer, President and CEO of Wintrust. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Second Federal is now flourishing and using an innovative model that works for the community.”
Wintrust initially had acquired the SFS deposits and rights to the branches from the FDIC. In August of 2012, TRP and SHFCU acquired the SFS mortgage portfolio. Mr. Wehmer agreed to partner with TRP and SHFCU by selling them the deposits and rights to the branches. His decision to partner with TRP and SHFCU to keep the SFS assets together resulted in the best thing for the community and ultimately helped create Second Federal Credit Union.

“All of us at Second Federal are excited about what the future holds,” said Self-Help CEO and Founder Martin Eakes. “We’ve all done a lot of hard work to help families stabilize their financial situations and look forward to a long and successful future helping to serve the people of Southwest Chicago.”
“As we think about the miraculous transformation of Second Federal, we are excited to continue working will all of the partners and the community to make Second Federal a pillar financial institution serving the needs of immigrants for generations to come,” said Rudy Medina, President, Second Federal in Chicago.
About The Resurrection Project
After 25 years and an initial seed capital of $30,000 from area parishes, The Resurrection Project (TRP) has become a powerful and effective social enterprise that seamlessly blends community development, community organizing, and advocacy with human service delivery to create vibrant, healthier, and involved communities. These efforts have resulted in leveraging over $346 million in community investment to empower more than 38,500 individuals.
About Second Federal
Second Federal is a division of Self-Help Federal Credit Union, a full service, member-owned financial institution. Self-Help Federal (www.self-helpfcu.org) was founded in 2008 and is part of the non-profit Center for Community Self-Help family of organizations. This includes North Carolina state-chartered Self-Help Credit Union, Self-Help Ventures Fund and the Center for Responsible Lending. Self-Help Federal currently has $600 million in assets, 60,000 members, three branches in Southwest Chicago, 20 branches in California, and provides fair and affordable basic financial services as well as home loans, community facility loans and personal loans, including auto, citizenship, and small dollar.
About The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. More information is at www.macfound.org.
About Wintrust
Wintrust, a financial holding company offering community and commercial banking, wealth management, and mortgage services, has served Chicago’s communities since 1991. As a locally-based and local-run company – and a family of true community banks – Wintrust believes in investing in, and giving back to the areas it serves.