About Us
Our Mission
Streator Onized Credit Union is committed to providing passionate service to members, community and each other to create a unique experience of people helping people.
About SOCU
The credit union was organized in 1939 and was originally limited to the service of employees and families of Owens Illinois Glass Company. In 1984 membership was expanded to serve the employees and families of Select Employee Groups. Now, in addition to the current 45+ Select Employee Groups, all residents and employees of LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Grundy, Putnam, Woodford, McLean, Bureau, Stark, Peoria, Tazewell, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Will, and Kendall Counties may join the credit union.
The original location of the credit union was within the plant of Owens Glass Company. In 1973 the first independent building was built at 912 N. Shabbona Street. By 1990, the Shabbona Street office expanded by tripling in size to accommodate the steady growth of membership.
Streator Onized Credit Union opened a second office at 16 Northpoint Plaza in May 1996, but due to an increased growth of the credit union, a new full-service facility was built at 120 E. Northpoint Drive. The new facility features an on-site ATM.
In October 2005, the credit union expanded into Livingston County by opening a branch in Pontiac, IL at 210 W. Water St. SOCU-Pontiac Branch was much anticipated by the county employees, as the credit union had been providing service to them for years. The Pontiac Branch is the third full-service financial institution for the credit union.
The Dwight Branch debuted in November 2007 inside D & J Foods at 317 W. Waupansie in Dwight. As of December 18, 2008 the branch was moved to 124 E Main St. Dwight IL. 60420. SOCU-Dwight Branch is a full-service financial institution and is the only credit union located in Dwight, IL. The most recent addition to the Dwight facility is a stand-alone ATM that is located outside the branch to serve Dwight members and the surrounding community.
In December 2010, SOCU began constructing a 4,000 square foot state of the art facility located at 610 South Newport Road in Pontiac. This full-service facility, complete with a drive-thru and on-site ATM, was opened in June 2011.
In August 2011, SOCU opened a student-run branch inside Streator High School, called Bulldog Credit Union. Operating hours were before school and during lunch hours every day the school was in session. Bulldog Credit Union was opened with the intention of bringing financial literacy to the students before leaving for college or starting their own careers after high school.
Later in 2011, SOCU was honored with a first-place national award given by CUNA. SOCU received The Community Credit Union of the Year in September 2011 for under $250 million in assets. This honor is given community credit unions that excel in the advancement of the ideals of the credit union movement, are proactive in their community and provide a wide array of services that meet the needs of their diverse communities.
In 2014 & 2015 SOCU was named one of the Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions in America and expanded membership to include Woodford and McLean counties.
Construction began in the spring of 2016 at SOCU's first branch located at Shabbona Street in Streator to add an additional 6,000 sqft of office space while the prior 4,000 sqft was renovated to include a call center, new drive-thru, lobby and ATM. Construction was completed in 2017.
In 2017, SOCU was given a rank of the 61st healthiest credit union in the United States by Deposit Accounts for the 2016 fiscal year. This ranking was given out of a pool of over 6,000 credit unions nationwide, leaving SOCU in the top 1% of all United States credit unions.
Later in the fall of 2017, SOCU expanded it's membership area to include a grand total of 16 counties including, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Grundy, Putnam, Woodford, McLean, Bureau, Stark, Peoria, Tazewell, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Will, and Kendall Counties
In 2018, SOCU was once again given a top 200 rank with the rank of 119th healthiest credit union in the United States by Deposit Accounts for the 2017 fiscal year.
On June 1st, 2018 SOCU opened it's Morris Branch location at 1544 Creek Dr. in Morris, Illinois to serve Grundy County and the surrounding area.
In 2019, SOCU celebrated 80 years of member service, with member celebrations throughout the year. View all the fun we had
In 2020, SOCU was given a top 200 rank with a rank of 130th healthiest credit union in the United States by Deposit Accounts for the 2019 fiscal year.
In 2021, SOCU Dwight Branch was moved to 107 E. Chippewa St. and equipped with a new ATM. SOCU was again given a top 200 rank with a rank of 167th healthiest credit union in the United States by Deposit Accounts for the 2020 fiscal year.
On August 9th, 2021 SOCU opened it's Ottawa Branch location at 721 Columbus St. in Ottawa, Illinois to serve LaSalle County and the surrounding area.
In 2022, SOCU was ranked as the 7th best-performing credit union in the nation by S&P Market Intelligence.
Most recently in 2023, SOCU moved up from the 7th best-performing, all the way up to 3rd in the nation by S&P Market Intelligence.
In 2024, SOCU Morris Branch moved to 1804 N. Division St., complete with a 24/7 ATM and multi-lane drive thru. Better suited for the people of Grundy County and the surrounding area.
The Streator Onized Credit Union facilities are full-service financial institutions offering loans for automobiles, real estate, home equity, recreational, personal loans, and VISA cards. A variety of savings products are offered, including checking accounts, share certificates, IRA’s, Money Markets, Christmas, Vacation and Youth Savers clubs. In addition, the credit union has a 24-hour audio response line, 24-hour online loan service, VISA check card, Direct Deposit, Online Account Access, e-Statements, and Online Bill Pay.