Credit unions or smaller banks (Chicago: mortgage, credit card, neighborhood)

[Gemini1963]

Hi, all.

We will be moving from out of state to Beverly in December (if all goes well...) and we'd like to open a new account at a smaller bank or credit union. We've been using credit unions for about the last 20 years and we are very reluctant to go back to a huge bank now.

I have searched the forum posts but some info is pretty dated (2008) and some of it relates to the north side. But so far, the options that stick out are:

Alliant Credit Union
North Community Bank (even though it's north...)
Harris Bank

We don't need physical locations nearby for much. We withdraw cash about once a month and then we usually deposit checks by mail (or have clients use direct deposit).

If anyone has any feedback about the places above, or has any other suggestions, I'd be grateful to hear them.

Thank you!

[soulful]

Alliant Credit Union is wonderful. Even if you don't live in one of their qualifying communities or work for one of the organizations connected with the credit union, you can still join by making a one time 10.00 donation to Foster CAre to Success Foster Care to Success | Eligibility | Membership | Alliant Credit Union

Alliant staff are very professional at the 800 number and I would highly recommend them.

Also, North Community Bank has an excellent no fee checking account that doesn't even require direct deposit.

Both of the above are great choices.

[paytonc]

There aren't as many credit unions (or cooperatives) in Chicago as there should be. There are, however, lots of little community banks of varying quality around, a legacy of Illinois being one of the last states to legalize branch banking. Beverly Bank is still an independent, neighborhood-based bank, for instance.

Most Cook County residents are eligible to be members of United Credit Union (the Chicago teachers' credit union), which conveniently for you has a branch at Western & 97th. Credit Union 1 is on 95th, although I've never quite understood what their membership criteria are, and I've always been wary of it not being NCUA-insured.

If you're considering Alliant CU -- UAL-employed friends seem to like it, and I hadn't thought to check my eligibility -- you might also look into other national credit unions like Pentagon Federal. PenFed has remote check deposit and some very competitive credit card/mortgage products.

Harris is owned by Bank of Montreal, so I wouldn't call it "smaller."

[CHI787ORD]

I bank with Harris and have always been very happy with them. They are not a credit union, just a strong regional bank that is now owned by the Bank of Montreal. Either way, its not really a Wall Street bank by any means and I have been very satisfied with them.

[Lorielicious]

I was nervous about banking with Harris as I'm just as irritated with large banks as the next gal, but so far they've been great. I have free checking, and have experienced some A+ customer service with them. When I first signed up, they neglected to mail my checks to me (bad), but I went into the branch to speak with someone about it, they fixed the problem right away, and the even banker volunteered to walk the checks to my office (good!).

People make mistakes, which is understandable, but I start to see red when a company makes a mistake and screws you for it. This happens with shameful frequency. Remedying the problem was enough to leave me no longer crabby, but having the checks express mailed (as opposed to ultra slow 5-10 days they give for ordinary check orders) and the banker offering to walk to me was insane. That's something that would never happen at Chase, where the customer service mantra seems to be "Hey customer -- f*** you!"

[Gemini1963]

Thank you for all of these (very) helpful answers! (And just last night, while making dinner, I was mimicking the old (ancient) ad for Harris for my husband - Hubert the lion saying in his rounded tones, "Youuuuu should have a Harris Banker!" - and telling him about me getting a stuffed Hubert for Christmas one year.)

So we'll see what we wind up doing, but all these positive posts really do help me feel like we have some great options. Thank you all again!!

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

That's something that would never happen at Chase, where the customer service mantra seems to be "Hey customer -- f*** you!"

That was my experience as well. I will never be a custmer of a big bank again if I can help it. The WaMu/Chase changeover was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life.

[Vlajos]

North Community is a nice bank. Highly reccomend them.