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Bank One, Pfleger, Foster

By Margaret Lyons in News on Jun 15, 2004 6:32PM

2004.06.15.bankone.gifAnyone doing some banking on the South Side today might have noticed people picketing at the Bank One on 8151 Cottage Grove. Rev. Michael Pfleger, of St. Sabina’s on west 78th Street, organized a protest of what he claims are racist practices promoted by Bank One. At their Cottage Grove branch, Bank One displays a sign of a red circle with a slash mark across a gun, and has metal detectors and double-locked entry and exit doors. According to the Sun-Times, Pfleger checked other Bank One branches “downtown and in other African-American communities” and discovered that other facilities had not adopted similar policies.
Pfleger thinks the signs and security measures are unjust and disrespectful; a spokesman for Bank One said they wanted to “provide a safe location, so [they] took additional safety measures in this neighborhood because of its high crime rate." Quoth Stella Foster, “I guess this would be called banking while black!” Chicagoist wonders if the branch will keep its “Thank you for not shooting” sign up when it switches to Chase.