About Us

Our Vision

The Center for Economic Progress envisions an America of shared prosperity, where all working families can access the financial opportunities they need to succeed.

Our Mission

The Center for Economic Progress helps hard-working, low-income families move from financial uncertainty to financial security. 

Local in service but national in voice, we achieve our mission in three ways: 

• We provide trusted tax and financial counseling, giving Illinois families the tools to make sound choices. 
  
• We lead a national coalition  of organizations that promote economic progress for low-wage workers and their families. 
  
• We advance policies and practices to create a financial system that works for all.  

With offices in both Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Learn more about our work.

Our Values

Mission-Driven 

We are passionate about our mission. It fuels and drives our work every day and in every way. We are committed to having measurable impact on people’s lives. We seek to address root causes, and we realize that this requires us to address issues at multiple levels by providing services of the highest-caliber.

We voice our opinions freely and respectfully when we have something important to say. We believe openness fosters clarity. Yet, when the debate is finished and it’s time for action, we move forward with a unity of effort—all moving in the same direction.

Accountability

The true measure of our success is whether individual lives—and communities—change for the better as a result of our work. We recognize that the way we do things is extremely important in determining what we achieve.

Being mission-focused, producing measurable outcomes, rigorously evaluating our work and developing and maintaining sound financial management are essential elements of our accountability.  We take responsibility for our actions by being good stewards of our time and resources.

Respect 

We respect and value diversity in our employees, board members, volunteers and our clients.  We treat all people equally and with dignity.

We believe in building bridges. We support people of different backgrounds working together to address shared concerns.

Integrity

Our thoughts, words and actions are in alignment. We do what we say, and we say what we mean. We always do the right thing—that which is ethically correct—even when no one is looking.

Our organization’s activities, services and programs are always consistent with our mission, compatible with our capacity and managed with the highest level of professionalism.

Recognition of Employees’ Value

We recognize employees as our best assets, and we strive to celebrate each other’s accomplishments. We work to create a positive environment where we express our appreciation for, and recognition of others.

We work to excel and believe strongly in the capacity of our staff to not only succeed but to excel. Our staff serves as the bedrock of our organization, and we will invest in their potential.  We value the need for flexibility in providing our employees with support inside and outside of the workplace. We are not just a 9 to 5 organization.

Our History

The Center for Economic Progress was founded in 1990 by Michael O’Connor, a veteran public benefits lawyer. Formerly the Center for Law and Human Services, the agency first focused on helping homeless families and individuals access services.