■ Loretto Hospital opens Woman’s Wellness Center PAGE 5
FREE Vol. 39 No. 12
March 26, 2025 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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Banking starts comeback in Austin after decades
The recovery house for women and children at 851 N. Leamington Ave.
Chicago’s West Side has been underbanked for half a century, but it’s finally starting to see more investment from financial institutions By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
There are only four financial institutions in Austin, serving over 90,000 residents: The Great Lakes Credit Union at Leaders Network Financial on Madison Street, a BMO Bank and the Old Second National Bank on North Avenue, and a U.S. Bank branch on Madison Street. “I would say, for at least 10 years, there’s been one bank in Austin, which is ridiculous,” Austin native Michelle Collins told Austin Weekly News of the U.S. Bank facility. Collins is a retired community development banker, who helped give home and commercial loans to Austin residents for over 25 years. She was also instrumental in getting the Great Lakes Credit Union’s Leaders Network branch to open last year. Just west of Austin Boulevard, Austin’s western border, Oak Park has a U.S. Bank and the Self-Help See BANKS on page 6
JESSICA MORDACQ
Woman-owned construction firm at work on women’s recovery house The Englewood-based Pink Hats Construction & Development Group is prioritizing hiring female workers and the formerly incarcerated
A woman- and minority-owned construction company is leading the construction on the Phoenix Recovery House for women and children at 851 N. Leamington Ave. in Austin. After gutting the former substance abuse recovery
By JESSICA MORDACQ | Staff Reporter
See PINK HATS on page 9
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