History of ACU

ACU Board of Directors

	Not Pictured
Bradford Stacy Board Chair	Phil Branshaw Vice Chair	James Miller Treasurer	Brian McDaniel Secretary
Not Pictured		Not Pictured	Not Pictured
Daryl Keene	Donald Krok	Marty McGinnis	Greg Morin
William Vroman

History of ACU

In 1949 Argonne National Laboratory studied the feasibility of organizing a credit union for its employees. This study triggered an enthusiastic response from both Lab management and employees. Within a short time an interim Board of Directors was chosen. This Board applied to the State of Illinois for a Charter of Incorporation and on October 21, 1949 Argonne Credit Union was born.

Argonne Credit Union (ACU) began accepting applications for membership in January 1950. The value of each share was $5.00. The interim Board called the first meeting of the members on February 20, 1950 to elect an official slate of candidates. On that date ACU had 226 members with an additional 100 applications for membership and assets of $6,700.

By law ACU is a not-for-profit cooperative. Policy matters - then and now - are set by an unpaid board elected annually from the membership at large. Its initial membership was limited to employees of Argonne National Laboratory and Atomic Energy Commission, a predecessor today's Department of Energy. As time passed the credit union's field of membership was expanded to include the employees of other National Laboratories; as well as other smaller groups engaged in energy research and development.

The credit union grew rapidly. After two years it had 1300 members and assets of $250,000. The $1 million in assets mark was achieved in 1955 followed by the $10 million mark in 1976, and $50 million in 1985. In 2007 ACU brought on the members of DesPlaines Valley Credit Union, adding almost 1,500 members. In 2010 ACU merged with Prairie Trail Credit Union, which nearly doubled the membership.

Today ACU is one of the largest credit unions in the state of Illinois, with over $260 million in assets, serving more than 25,000 members from 10 branches. We are open to people that live or work in 6 different counties in Illinois as well as serving employees of over one hundred employer groups.

At ACU we put members first and continue to maintain our financial strength. It is our goal to give members the best “experience” they can have at a financial institution, and we truly believe in our mission: “Help our Members Succeed Financially”. This simple statement continues to be the driving force behind what we do each and everyday as we serve the members/owners of Argonne Credit Union.