In a move to strengthen Chicago’s local economy, city Treasurer Kurt Summers deposited ... hold on while I convert $20 million using the Negrometric exchange rate (let’s see; you carry the 1 ... OK, I think I got it).
The city of Chicago “made it rain” on the city’s last remaining black-owned bank when it announced plans to deposit exactly 20,000 “stacks” at Illinois-Service Federal Savings and Loan Association, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Summers said that the decision is part of an effort to invest in community banking and help economic development in Chicago neighborhoods. “Community banks are a great opportunity for that because they are designed for the sole purpose of reinvesting in their local area,” Summers announced.
Located in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, ISF was founded in 1934 and went through a rigorous certification process required to become one of the financial institutions that hold the city’s $300 million to $700 million in deposits.
In June 2016, Ghana’s Nduom family invested more than $9 million in ISF, streamlined services and revised many of the bank’s practices to make them competitive with other institutions. The Nduoms own a vast conglomerate of companies that span Africa, the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Chicago’s other black-owned bank, Seaway Federal Credit Union, was closed earlier this year and purchased by North Carolina’s Self-Help Federal Credit Union.
The resurgence of black-owned banks is partly credited to the #BankBlack movement that went viral on social media after hip-hop artist and activist Killer Mike called for 1 million people to deposit at least $100 into one of the more than 25 black-owned banks and credit unions across the country.
While the sum seems like a lot (I checked my personal bank account and found I have slightly less than $20 million in savings), if Chicago’s police officers would just refrain from randomly killing people, perhaps the city could afford to deposit a few more dollars. According to a project by the Chicago Reporter, 943 lawsuits cost the city $280,231,876 between 2011 and 2016.
That’s a lot of stacks.
Read more at the Chicago Tribune.