The recent op-ed by Horacio Mendez “Stop pawnbrokers from charging predatory interest rates of 240%,” irresponsibly mischaracterizes my academic research — which is under rigorous peer review — and creates a false narrative that ignores the negative impacts of the Predatory Loan Prevention Act (PLPA) on consumers with subprime credit.
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the PLPA in March 2021, he and other supporters claimed it would help “low-income communities.” But what really happened? If by “helping,” Pritzker and others meant eliminating choices, they succeeded. Our research shows that the PLPA made unsecured installment loans less available to subprime borrowers.
