CHICAGO-It could be said that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has credit unions in his blood.
Speaking to the crowd assembled at the NASCUS summit here, Quinn explained that his father, after serving in World War II, helped found a credit union.
"It's important that we give folks alternatives where they can save money, earn interest through the value of compound interest, and when they do take a loan out ... they have an institution they can borrow from and use in a way that advances their family's interests. That's how you build the great middle class of America."
Quinn last addressed the NASCUS summit in Chicago in 2005 when he was lieutenant governor, and on this day he spoke without notes and stressed his support for the cooperative movement.
"I really believe in credit unions, because I'm a member of three credit unions in Illinois," the governor said to great applause.
He became a member of DuPage Schools CU as a child when his mother worked there and later joined a community development CU in his neighborhood, as well as Credit Union One, which has a branch in the Illinois statehouse.
