By Eloise Schell and staff

Chicago, IL – On Monday, September 28, about 60 activists gathered outside the Bilandic Building to protest at the quarterly Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) meeting. Protesters, some of whom traveled from as far as central Illinois, called on the ISBI vice-chair, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, to divest from Israel Bonds, and called for ISBI to continue divestment from companies complicit in the Israeli genocide of Palestinians and ICE attacks on immigrants.

Nick Sous with the US Palestinian Community Network began his speech by leading the crowd through a chant: “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!”

Sous stated, “We’ve been out here two years calling on Michael Frerichs to grow a spine, calling on Michael Frerichs to take a stand, and divest from Israel Bonds. Yet every step of the way, he continues to maintain his complicity in the genocide.”

Yusuf Masood of Anti-War Committee-Chicago said, “Today this network of 80 plus organizations and especially the working people of Illinois have a special and important demand for Michael Frerichs, to let the November Israel bond worth $20 million expire and do not renew it. The people, your constituents, do not want to renew investments in genocide.”

Proceeds from the sale of Israel Bonds are transferred to Israel without humanitarian restrictions of any kind, meaning Israel can and has been using these investments to finance its genocide.

Hugo Gebner, with Casa DuPage, a group organizing immigrant workers in the western Suburbs, connected the fight against U.S. imperialism with the struggle for immigrant rights: “Our main threat right now is ICE, and we are here today to make it clear that our organization understands ICE’s human trafficking is facilitated by the Illinois State Board of Investment.”

Twenty people were allowed to enter the meeting to observe or provide public comment. All seven of the activists who spoke to the board condemned ISBI’s investments in companies like Palantir, L3Harris, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman. Several speakers also called directly on ISBI Vice-Chair Michael Frerichs, who was notably absent, to divest from all Israel Bonds.

Kayla Nguyen with the Immigrant Rights Working Committee, said: “The blood and suffering of Black and brown people here in Chicago, in Illinois, cannot be separated from the genocide in Palestine. The weapons militarized police forces deploy on our streets and against our communities are the same ones they’re testing on the ground in Palestine today. ISBI invests millions and millions of Illinois tax dollars into companies that, in turn, contract with ICE and DHS and Israel.”

Simon Huffman-Gottschling, a library worker and member of 73 for Palestine, reflected on ISBI investing public workers’ pensions into these companies. He stated to the ISBI board: “The people of Illinois and the public workers will remember that when given not only the option, but the incentive to stop kidnapping your own constituents, funding genocide, and killing children, you decided to keep going.”

Instead of addressing the concerns of the taxpayers and workers they represent, ISBI has escalated their repression of the public in the past year by packing the room with Illinois State Police, bringing police dogs, threatening to arrest each pro-Palestine member of the public upon them entering the building, planting career Zionists in public comment, and even creating a physical barrier by arranging tables between themselves and the public commenters.

Readers who live in Illinois can sign the petition calling on ISBI and Frerichs to divest from genocide and ICE. If you are part of an organization that wants to endorse the campaign, you can sign this letter to do so. If you are outside Illinois, you can join an Anti-War Action Network member organization and research your state’s investments into complicit companies.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #AWCChicago

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