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.”
Conyears-Ervin defended the portfolio’s performance. The city does not have the flexibility of other funds, and her returns have outpaced past treasurers, she said. She also argued that the city has other comparable options in lieu of the securities.
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?”
Conyears-Ervin argued that many other financial instruments are similarly profitable for the city.
“The same as corporate bonds, the same as money market accounts, the same as asset-backed securities,” she said. “We will continue to invest in securities that offer a competitive return, and we will not compromise the safety of the assets, the liquidity of the assets or the rate of return.”
Ald. Anthony Napolitano, 41st, said he was “appalled” by the treasurer’s boycott announcement. He had to walk out of the City Council’s chambers because the move upset him so much, he added.
“I feel like you came in here on a campaign instead of a budget report, and I don’t think that this is the forum for that,” he said. “I don’t think your statement should come in here and make a judgment for the entire city of Chicago based on your political views. And I think that what you did was completely wrong.”
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and City Clerk Anna Valencia endorsed Conyears-Ervin on Tuesday in her bid to succeed Davis, according to her campaign.
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.
“This is the moment we are in right now,” she said. “Extraordinary moments call for extraordinary action. Our taxpayers are asking us to do something now. “
Conyears-Ervin added during the hearing that she hopes the boycott “will not be the case” when another president is elected. A treasurer’s office spokesperson said they were unaware of any other municipality that has done something similar.
She also said her staff is drafting an ordinance that would enable her to make further changes to the city’s financial portfolio, citing an inability to change money market holdings. Such holdings, which mostly earn interest from treasury securities, make up a $2 billion stake of the city’s portfolio, she said.
Budget hearings continued in Chicago Wednesday as federal action appeared poised to further affect city spending, this time through the Senate-backed bill to end the ongoing government shutdown. The Republican-championed bill would criminalize many hemp products.
Johnson had counted on a $2-per-item tax on hemp products to bring in $10 million when he introduced his 2026 budget proposal.
Later Wednesday, Johnson’s team announced it had removed the proposal from the mayor’s budget, but criticized the federal efforts and said it would continue to analyze the new legislation.
Johnson’s administration is in talks with aldermen on how it will fill the new gap the change left, spokesperson Cassio Mendoza said.
