Oak Park Newspaper

The financial market is always something of a gamble. How
big and how much are two very large variables. If you own everything you can loose everything and if most of your wealth is on paper it could be used as kindling if things go in the wrong direction. Things went as far off their intended direction as you can imagine. In 1990 Mike Kelly's bank on the corner of Madison street and Austin Blvd was worth about $125,000,000.00, the bank was called First Bank of Oak Park.
First Bank of Oak Park would go to be called Park National Bank, but FBOP letters would stay in place with the incorporated name. When things began it was a era of large
economic growth and in a decade under the Clinton administration banks would go in all directions and with little if any regulations on what they could do or who they could do it to. Mike Kelly would grow his empire from a local Oak Park bank to about 30. His personal wealth would top out at a little over $3,000,000,000.00 (3 billion) and that would make him wealthier than Donald Trump (Trump, Donald John Lessor Fortunes Net Worth: $2.6 billion Source: Real Estate, real estate Inherited and growing). Steven Spielberg was also at 3 billion
dollars of financial wealth. That all ended for Mr. Kelly on
October 30, 2009.

River Forest resident and billionaire Mike Kelly just finished
remodeling his home and had just been given a $50,000,000.00
check from the United States government to help with his foundation to assist those in financial need with their mortgages. This happened on the same day that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) arrived in Oak Park to
take over the banks that Mr. Kelly owned and managed.

The economy went to hell in a handbag and trouble started for Mike Kelly years ago and much of that trouble was based upon loans and investments that were risky. Some of those risks were held and sold to be less risky and backed by the United States government. When the entire country was looking at their home values grow each year so thought it made good investment sense to buy properties and only pay the interest because you could always sell it later, paying off the principal and pocketing the increased value of the real-estate that you never even made a payment on. Congress thought that everyone should own a home and participate in the great American dream--Fannie and Freddie enter the game.

The straw which became a tree that broke the camels back was
for Mike Kelly the $800,000,000.00 of the preferred stock he
held in Fannie and Freddie, stock that went way south.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac almost became like junk bonds
for those holding bad debt. On Friday the FDIC closing of
Park National Bank and the hard work of Mike Kelly, became
the worst day for banks since the bank crisis started closing banks last year, this was a total of nine banks in one day -- and all of Mike Kelly's banks.

Mike Kelly is reported to have had all the needed capital to keep the FDIC happy, but requested another week to have the paper work completed. The FDIC couldn't wait and took over and the new boss would be US Bank.

Perhaps if Mike Kelly who reportedly gave some $50,000,000.00 to an old school of his anonymously last year, to other local educational groups, to our local child care folks and to our mental health organization, and let his name get out there he might have had a better lobbying group on his team. Bank examiners can make or break you on any given day by there actions, and Friday they broke one of Oak Park and River Forest's heavy hitting philanthropists. These are tough financial times and the loss of well intentioned bank and a local mover and shaker is a tragedy.