Chicago to divest from federal Treasury bonds over Trump's 'authoritarian regime'

Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin has said that the city will not be investing the city's $10 billion portfolio in US Treasury bonds in order to protest what she called an "authoritarian regime" under President Donald Trump.

“Chicagoans do not want us to bankroll the regime — the authoritarian regime — of Donald Trump where he has waged a war on our city,” the city treasurer said. “In the past three years, our office has held over $200 million in Treasury securities. Beginning today, I have directed my staff to boycott the purchase of United States Treasury securities.”

She made the comments at a hearing on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2026 budget. The move drew backlash from Alderman Raymond Lopez, who said that the city official was deciding to no longer invest in the United States Treasury bonds, one of the most secure asset classes.

“I thought my ears deceived me. Did you just say that you were going to disinvest from the United States?... Are we not an American city? Is not our oath to the United States?” Lopez said, per the Chicago Star Tribune. “I’m trying to make sure I understand why an American city which 53 members of its elected body take an oath to the United States Constitution to support, defend — that is our values. To say we’re not going to invest in our values? Saying that we no longer as a city support the United States of America?"

Conyears-Ervin responded, “It’s a bold statement, isn’t it? And we need it to be.”

Lopez then said, “Actually, I think it’s a very dangerous and reckless statement. ... Your goal is to manage our investments in things that actually produce money.”

Conyears-Ervin said that while Treasury bonds have made healthy yields for the Chicago taxpayer, she argued that the city of Chicago could invest elsewhere in securities such as money market accounts, corporate bonds, or asset-backed securities—all of which are historically riskier investments than Treasury bonds.

“There are many instruments that produce a rate of return. ... We’re going to invest in others that will provide a competitive rate of return, and we will not compromise the safety of the assets, the liquidity of the assets or the rate of return,” the Chicago treasurer said.

Alderman Bill Conway, who is a former investment banker, said in response to the move by Conyears-Ervin that it is a “pretty well-known axiom that the United States Treasury is by far the most liquid and secure debt instrument in the history of the world."

"You perhaps may want to rethink that decision," Conway added.

Divesting from Treasury bonds would also hypothetically decrease the value of the United States dollar, although the investment from one city's taxpayer funds overall is not likely to cause that much of a dent.