‘Height of Irresponsibility’: Chicago Treasurer Boycotts Treasury to Protest Trump

In an egregious betrayal of her sworn fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers, Chicago Democrat Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin has said she will no longer invest the city’s money in U.S. Treasury bonds in order to spite President Donald Trump. The move has even some Democrat aldermen concerned as the Windy City teeters on the brink of a financial disaster.

Even though U.S. Treasury bonds are among the safest investments in the world, Conyears-Ervin says she will refuse to buy them with city funds to oppose Trump’s supposedly “authoritarian” regime. “The city of Chicago will not invest in a federal administration that is using the power of government to terrorize us,” Conyears-Ervin wrote.

She accordingly plans to “immediately stop making new, direct purchases of U.S. Treasury marketable securities” and divest from “holdings in money market funds and other instruments that derive their value from Treasurys.”

“Federal agents in our neighborhoods pepper-spraying a 1-year-old, dragging a teacher out of a day care in front of toddlers and drawing guns on our citizens are what brought about this response,” she said, repeating dubious or misleading claims about immigration enforcement actions. She also played the race card, citing her identity as a “black woman” and arguing it is “un-American” to “silently underwrite policies we believe are unconstitutional and immoral.”

As city treasurer, Conyears-Ervin manages the city’s $10 billion investment portfolio, which includes Chicago’s pension fund. As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing data from the Illinois Policy Institute, Chicago already has $53 billion in pension debt. A Treasury boycott will “deny Chicago a safe and liquid investment choice” just when they need it most.

“Whether Chicago invests in T-bills or T-bonds will have no effect on federal immigration policy,” the Journal Editorial Board wrote, dubbing Conyears-Ervin “the financial Wizard of Odd.” “It also won’t matter to the Treasury, which can find plenty of other buyers.”

Standard & Poor’s has also already downgraded Chicago’s credit rating this year due to “structural budgetary imbalance.” Conyears-Ervin’s decision to play politics with the city’s money is unlikely to improve that outlook.

And politics appears to be the primary motivating factor behind the move. Conyears-Ervin is currently running for Congress in a crowded Democrat field to replace retiring Congressman Danny Davis in Chicago’s 7th District. Her announcement has thrust her into national headlines as part of the left-wing “resistance” against President Trump. In that sense, the ploy may have already paid off for her personally.

But Conyears-Ervin is quickly learning that not all press is good press. The left-leaning Chicago Tribune called her decision the “height of irresponsibility” and echoed comments made by Democrat Alderman Ray Lopez that the idea is “reckless.” The boycott is also “a violation of the treasurer’s fiduciary duty to city taxpayers,” the Tribune Editorial Board opined.

32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack, another Democrat, also told a local ABC station that Conyears-Ervin’s boycott is “a political stunt,” saying that “it was unfortunate and irresponsible for her to come and say that.”

As the outlet noted, “Not only are U.S. Treasuries considered the most solid, safe and liquid investments, but they are higher than the rate of return under Conyear-Ervin’s tenure.” During a recent hearing, Alderman Bill Conway likewise pointed out that the city’s return on its portfolio worked out to just 3.6 percent. “That is very low. Heck, the 10-year Treasury trades above four percent,” Conway said. “A risk-free instrument.”

But Conyear-Ervin isn’t the only Chicago Democrat to come down with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that negatively impacts the entire city. Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former left-wing union activist, has also vowed to make the city an “ICE-Free Zone” and to oppose Trump at every turn. Last month, Johnson signed an executive order on “prohibiting use of city property for federal immigration operations.”

Late last year, Chicago residents ripped Johnson during public hearings, with one woman calling him “the worst mayor in America” for his generous public support for illegal aliens. As Fox News reported, Johnson’s administration has spent more than $574 million on migrants since 2022 despite the city trying to overcome a $1 billion budget shortfall.

Ultimately, Conyear-Ervin’s “boycott” and Johnson’s endless handouts to illegal aliens won’t do anything to hurt Trump or stop ICE – but they will harm the very taxpayers who have put their trust in city leaders to manage their money wisely. It will be up to Chicago voters to decide to finally make a change.

Matt Lamb is an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.