Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin announced Wednesday that she will launch a boycott against investing the city’s cash in U.S. Treasury Department securities in a protest against President Donald Trump.
The boycott would start immediately, Conyears-Ervin told aldermen, as a way to push back on “the authoritarian regime of Donald Trump.” Chicago does not currently hold any such securities. But the move will “match our money to our values,” Conyears-Ervin argued during a City Council budget hearing in which some aldermen said they are worried about the political nature of the move.
“I’m going to use that voice that our citizens gave me to say loud and clear to Donald Trump: Not one cent from Chicago will be invested in you,” said Conyears-Ervin, who is running in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Rep. Danny Davis in the 7th Congressional District.
The city has held over $200 million in Treasury securities within the past three years, though it does not hold the securities now, she said. There is over $1.5 trillion invested in Treasury securities by states and local municipalities across the country, according to her office.
Conyears-Ervin told the Tribune she hopes other municipalities will follow her lead. “We will not allow them to wage war on our residents. We will not allow them to pepper spray one-year-olds in the street. We will not allow them to put guns to the heads of everyday citizens,” she said. But some council members decried the move as a potential financial risk and even an offensive attack on the country.
Ald. Bill Conway, vice chair of the Finance Committee, cautioned Conyears-Ervin that the Treasurys are “by far the most liquid and secure debt instrument in the history of the world.” He went on to criticize the 3.6% return on the $11 billion portfolio the treasurer manages, calling it “very low.”
Other aldermen took their criticism a step further, directly opposing the political stance of Conyears-Ervin. Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, asked the treasurer if she took an oath to America when she was sworn in, a rhetorical question that drew a frustrated response from Conyears-Ervin. "I think it’s a very dangerous and reckless statement,” Lopez said. “Does the Treasury investment produce money?”
Pressed by Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, to explain whether the Treasury securities were no longer generating sufficient returns, Conyears-Ervin did not answer the financial question and reiterated the political goal of her move. Waguespack followed up asking her if Trump personally profits from the now-boycotted city investments.
Posted by John3262005
3 Comments
> He went on to criticize the 3.6% return on the $11 billion portfolio the treasurer manages, calling it “very low.”
You don’t get to call for investment in the most secure investments and then complain that returns are low. Invest in treasuries, get treasury yields. The YTD returns on GOVT, a treasuries ETF from iShares is 3.6%. This is a Trump-level of childish insult that only resonates with the least informed voters.
Common Chicago Democrat L
why is city treasurer an elected position?