The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has launched a new online complaint portal designed to streamline how consumers report issues involving financial institutions and regulated companies, including debt collectors.
The move comes as state officials point to a sharp increase in consumer complaints nationwide and what they describe as a decline in successful federal complaint resolution efforts.
For the first time, Illinois consumers will be able to submit complaints for both the Division of Banking and the Division of Financial Institutions through a single online system. State officials said the centralized portal is intended to make the complaint process more accessible while improving the agency’s ability to identify industry trends and intervene earlier when problems emerge.
“Consumer voices help us identify issues early so we can protect Illinois residents,” IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto Jr. said in announcing the rollout. “Modernizing our complaint process with a clear, online submission portal strengthens our ability to serve the public.”
State regulators tied the launch directly to rising complaint volumes and weakening federal mediation outcomes.
According to data cited by the agency from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, complaints submitted to the CFPB increased from 2.7 million in 2024 to 5.6 million in 2025. During the same period, the CFPB’s successful mediation rate reportedly fell from 49% in 2024 to less than 5% by November 2025.
Illinois consumers alone submitted roughly 244,000 complaints to the CFPB in 2025, representing an increase of more than 120,000 complaints from the prior year.
Many of those complaints involve industries regulated directly by Illinois, including debt collection, money transmission, consumer lending, and mortgage servicing activities.
The Division of Financial Institutions oversees credit unions, debt collectors, money transmitters, and consumer installment lenders, while also enforcing Illinois’ 36% APR cap established under the Predatory Loan Prevention Act. The Division of Banking supervises state chartered banks, student loan servicers, mortgage lenders, and pawnbrokers.
Illinois officials said the updated system is expected to improve voluntary mediation efforts and strengthen the agency’s ability to monitor emerging risks across the financial services landscape.
