By Chanel Crittenden and staff
Chicago IL – Over 50 people gathered for a rally outside of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) quarterly meeting in downtown Chicago on Monday, June 22. As the start of the rally drew near, chants of “Free Palestine,” “Money for jobs and education” and “Israel bombs, Illinois pays!” reverberated through the air for the morning commuters to hear.
This was the seventh protest held by the Illinois Divest from Genocide Network, led by Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) – Chicago, a project of U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), and Anti-War Committee (AWC) – Chicago. Their demands: ISBI divest from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide in Palestine, divest from companies facilitating the U.S. attacks on immigrant communities at home and for State Treasurer Michael Frerichs to divest Illinois tax dollars from Israel Bonds. Members of the public waited in line for three hours before they were let in to give public comment.
This protest followed the Illinois Divest from Genocide Network’s recent announcement that ISBI quietly divested $33 million from various companies that were targeted by the BDS movement, the American Friends Service Committee, and the United Nations for their complicity in supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the genocide in Gaza, and the illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank, as well as the operations of federal raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the U.S. The ISBI concealed this information in a condensed version of its 2025 annual report, and it was only revealed after the Illinois Divest from Genocide Network filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the full annual report.
“Across the country, we have seen a massive wave of divestment victories because of the resolve and pressure of everyday working people organizing on the ground to hold their public officials accountable,” said Caeli Kean, co-chair of the Anti-War Committee Chicago.
Minnesota, Michigan, South Carolina, Maryland and Louisiana were among some of the states that have seen city councils and labor unions vote to either fully or partially divest public dollars from Israel. In Detroit, Michigan, the United Auto Workers (UAW) voted to amend their union’s constitution, prohibiting investments in Israel Bonds. Urbana and Champaign joined the list when its city council voted unanimously to revise their divestment policy
“We were the first city in Illinois to divest from war and genocide,” Jess Yasin, an organizer from Champaign Urbana Muslim Action Committee announced, shouting out organizational allies and Urbana’s mayor who helped to make it happen. “Today we’re asking [Micheal Frerichs] to follow suit with his home [town] and to go and divest. Do not renew, do not repurchase any more Israel Bonds!”
Doors opened before 9 a.m. and only 20 members of the public were allowed entry into the building. State police searched the attendees and their belongings, threatening arrest if anyone were to protest the meeting with chants, flags or noise-making devices.
Illinois residents, educators and paraprofessionals packed the public comment section and made impassioned speeches to the board’s use of state worker pension funds to invest in surveillance and weapons manufacturers while urging the board to reallocate tax-payer dollars ethically.
“Investigations confirm that torture, and specifically sexual torture, is a systemic practice in Israeli prisons. And Palantir software is used by ICE and CPD to fill prisons here too, where Black and brown people are subject to many of the same methods of torture,” Elinor Keener of AWC – Chicago said, speaking to the conditions of Palestinian prisoners unjustly held captive in Israeli detention. “This is what happens when government bodies like you invest in genocide. This would not be possible without U.S. funding, including via corporations like Palantir, and you are part of that. Nothing in this world justifies investing in genocide. It’s time to swallow your pride, summon your courage, and divest.”
Protesters rejoined the rally as the public comment section of the meeting wrapped up, emphasizing that the recent divestment victory is only a fraction of the divestment they are demanding.
“Israel continues killing Palestinians on a daily basis in Gaza, stealing and annexing more land in the West Bank, and has occupied swaths of Lebanese land,” said Husam Marajda, USPCN-Chicago chapter co-chair, “Israel is threatening to drag the entire region into war, and not holding it accountable only empowers it to continue to commit war crimes.”
Organizers ended the rally by announcing September 28 as the next scheduled quarterly meeting date and vowing to continue to show up until every last taxpayer dollar is divested from Israel.
#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Divestment
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