WAUKESHA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 31, 2026--
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) joined the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) today in Waukesha, Wis., to recognize one of the 14 Wisconsin organizations receiving grants through the Community First® Housing Counseling Resource Program (HCRP): La Casa de Esperanza.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260831877708/en/
The grants, funded by FHLBank Chicago and administered by WHEDA in Wisconsin, expand access to housing counseling services that prepare individuals and families for successful, sustainable homeownership and support FHLBank Chicago members with a pipeline of mortgage-ready applicants.
The HCRP strengthens the capacity of HUD-certified housing counseling agencies across Illinois and Wisconsin. FHLBank Chicago funds the program through partnerships with WHEDA in Wisconsin and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) in Illinois, helping agencies provide financial education, credit preparation, homebuyer education and individualized guidance for prospective and current homeowners.
"Successful homeownership requires more than overcoming affordability barriers. It also requires preparation, trusted guidance and local organizations that can meet families where they are," said Katie Naftzger, SVP and Community Investment Officer at FHLBank Chicago. "Through HCRP and our partnerships with WHEDA and IHDA, we are proud to support agencies like La Casa de Esperanza as they help more Wisconsin families take informed, confident steps toward homeownership."
Since its launch in 2022, through year-end 2025, the HCRP has awarded $13 million to strengthen housing counseling across Illinois and Wisconsin. Supported agencies provided services to more than 105,000 households, with nearly 9,000 achieving homeownership. In 2025, the program supported 44 HUD-certified housing counseling agencies across the two states.
"WHEDA brings deep expertise and relationships across Wisconsin, while housing counseling agencies provide trusted and personal guidance directly in the communities they serve," said Elmer Moore Jr., CEO and Executive Director of WHEDA. "These grants strengthen that network and help more Wisconsin families confidently navigate the path to successful homeownership."
La Casa de Esperanza will use the funding to strengthen housing counseling services for individuals and families in the Waukesha area.
"This funding helps us strengthen the housing counseling services we provide and meet individuals and families wherever they are on their path to homeownership," said Gina M. Sanchez Juarez, Center for Financial Stability Director at La Casa de Esperanza. "With this support, we can continue providing the personalized guidance and resources families need to prepare financially and make informed decisions about their future."
The impact of housing counseling is reflected in homebuyers like Julia Castillo who received counseling through La Casa de Esperanza while preparing to purchase a home. Julia, a single mom of three, also received a $10,000 Downpayment Plus ® (DPP ® ) grant from FHLBank Chicago through member Waukesha State Bank in Waukesha County to help with down payment and closing costs.
"Housing counseling gave me the guidance and information I needed to feel prepared for homeownership," said Castillo. "Having someone there to answer my questions and help me understand each step made the process feel much more manageable."
The HCRP is part of FHLBank Chicago's broader approach to expanding homeownership opportunities through its member-owned cooperative model. By strengthening housing counseling agencies and connecting prospective homebuyers with trusted guidance earlier in the process, the program helps create a stronger path from financial preparation to mortgage financing. Programs like DPP provide additional support along that path, helping eligible homebuyers with down payment and closing costs.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
FHLBank Chicago is a regional bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. FHLBanks are government-sponsored enterprises created by Congress to ensure access to low-cost funding for their member financial institutions, with a focus on providing solutions that support the housing and community development needs of members’ customers. FHLBank Chicago is a self-capitalizing cooperative, owned by its Illinois and Wisconsin members, including commercial banks, credit unions, insurance companies, savings institutions and community development financial institutions. To learn more about FHLBank Chicago, please visit fhlbc.com.
Community First, Downpayment Plus and DPP are registered trademarks of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.
Representatives from FHLBank Chicago, WHEDA, La Casa de Esperanza, and Waukesha State Bank gather in Waukesha, Wis., for a check presentation recognizing grant funding through FHLBank Chicago’s Community First® Housing Counseling Resource Program.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Closing statements are scheduled Monday in one of hip-hop's most anticipated trials for the man accused of orchestrating the death of Tupac Shakur.
Duane ”Keffe D” Davis, 63, faces a single count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in the killing of Shakur in Las Vegas nearly 30 years ago.
A panel of 16 jurors, four of whom will be alternates, heard 24 witnesses prosecutors called and three witnesses defense called over nine days. The trial was expected to take longer, with prosecutors originally planning to call 35 to 45 witnesses.
The prosecution was expected to hammer home their arguments that Davis called the shots for the attack on Shakur that night based on Davis' own statements, while Davis’ defense attorney will likely reiterate his claim that prosecution’s narrative is fiction, and that they failed to back up Davis’ claims with evidence.
The trial brings to a head a decades-long case that for years has drawn the eyes of hip-hop fans and true crime experts alike. Shakur, who was considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996, and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him, and shots were fired. Shakur died six days later from his wounds. Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight was also wounded, but survived.
For years, nobody had been charged in the rapper’s death until Davis began making public statements, saying he was in the Cadillac and gave the gun to others in the backseat. Davis, a self-proclaimed leader of the South Side Compton Crips at the time, described the shooting as an act of retaliation after Knight and Shakur’s entourage beat up Davis’ nephew in the MGM Grand hours before the shooting.
Prosecutors don’t claim Davis was the one who pulled trigger, but rather that he orchestrated the killing. Under Nevada law, someone who helps another person commit murder can be convicted of the crime. Davis is the only person still alive who was in the Cadillac.
The state has relied on Davis’ own statements he gave to police, documentarians and interviewers, in which he admitted to playing a role in the shooting. Davis also co-authored a book called “Compton Street Legend,” which Davis described as the “real truth” in an interview played for jurors.
In multiple interviews, Davis said he handed the gun to the back seat, with some details vary slightly on different occasions. Sometimes Davis said Deandre “Freaky” Smith had the gun but didn’t want it, so Anderson took it and pulled the trigger. In other interviews as well as his own book, Davis either wouldn't say who pulled the trigger, or that he didn't know.
Prosecution's witnesses included a gang expert who described Davis as the shot caller that younger gang members had to obey. Witnesses also testified regarding the heated gang rivalry between South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru, which were associated with dueling record companies Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records.
Davis’ defense attorney Michael Sanft has told jurors that his client’s words were braggadocio and were meant to make Davis money, not to tell the truth.
Sanft, who took on the case without pay, argues there is a lack of physical evidence tying Davis to the crime, such as phone records or bills.
During the trial investigators said a Las Vegas hotel bill was found at Davis’ residence during a police search, but it wasn’t clear when it was dated — or where that evidence is currently located.
The case is nearly 30 years old, and its age has affected the kind of evidence presented in court. Prosecutors warned jurors that material collected in the ’90s is different from what law enforcement collects today.
Still, prosecutors played for jurors surveillance footage collected from the MGM Grand that showed Shakur, wearing a gold dress shirt, walking briskly on the casino floor with his entourage struggling to keep up with him. Footage showed the fight between Shakur’s entourage with Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
FILE - Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 1996. (AP Photo/Frank Wiese, File)
Duane Davis sits at the defense table during a break in closing arguments during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Pool Photo via AP)
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal points to illustrations during closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Pool Photo via AP)
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal holds a copy of Duane Davis' book "Compton Street Legends" during closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Pool Photo via AP)
Duane Davis stands during a break in closing arguments during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Pool Photo via AP)
Duane Davis enters the courtroom before closing arguments in his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026.. (Steve Marcus/Pool Photo via AP)
Duane Davis enters the courtroom before closing arguments in his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026.. (Steve Marcus/Pool Photo via AP)
Former Las Vegas Metro Police Sgt. Stan Hyt testifies in court during the Duane Davis trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, Pool)
Former Las Vegas Metro Police officer Charlie Mangrum listens to Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo during the Duane Davis trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, Pool)
Duane Davis arrives for his trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (Caroline Brehman/Pool Photo via AP)
Duane Davis enters the courtoom during his trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, Pool)
Duane Davis looks on during his trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (Caroline Brehman/Pool Photo via AP)
