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Philadelphia State Senator 'Ballistic' Over Persistence Of 'Redlining'

HARRISBURG, P.a. (CBS) -- A Philadelphia state senator says he's gearing up for a fight after a report that "redlining" by financial institutions continues to plague Philadelphia and other cities.

"My staff, some of my colleagues will tell you I pretty much went ballistic," state Sen. Vincent Hughes tells KYW Newsradio.

Hughes, ranking Democrat on the state Senate Appropriations Committee, explains how he reacted when he saw an analysis by Reveal from The Center For Investigative Reporting detailing the persistence of "redlining" – denying mortgages based on race and ethnicity.

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The analysis shows African-Americans in Philadelphia are 2.7 times as likely to be denied a conventional mortgage as whites.

As state budget hearings opened, Hughes urged the state treasurer to flag financial institutions guilty of the practice.

"My charge will be to remove those funds from those institutions and put them somewhere else," he said.

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