Chicago IL – A group of 50 residents protested outside the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) quarterly meeting in downtown Chicago, Friday March 27. The action was organized by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC), BDS Chicago, and the Illinois Divest from Genocide Network, a group of 60 organizations. Protesters demand that ISBI divest from all companies complicit in Israeli, U.S. wars, as well companies materially supporting ICE and other federal immigration enforcement here in the U.S. 

The network hosted a rally outside of the quarterly meeting as they have been for the past year and a half.

“The aggression on Iran both by our government and the Zionist state happened because boards like ISBI and treasurers like Michael Frerichs refuse to divest from genocide and war. When we gift companies with government contracts, investments and tax incentives, they will continue doing the evil things that our so-called politicians stand against and oppose,” stated Husam Marajda of USPCN during the outside rally portion. 

In addition to ISBI’s investments, Michael Frerichs, the Illinois state treasurer and vice chair of ISBI, has invested $100 million in Israel bonds. He renewed $15 million worth of bonds as recently as this February, despite growing demands for divestment.

After the outside rally, several people went through intense security checks and were even threatened with arrest to give public comment at the board meeting where they expressed their concern over ISBI and Frerichs’s inaction and demanded divestment. Several commenters discussed how money invested in companies like Palantir, L3Harris, and Boeing directly funds ICE kidnappings at home, and Israeli war crimes and genocide in West Asia. 

Several directly invoked ISBI and Frerichs’s responsibility. As Dominic Robolino, a healthcare worker and commenter stated, “We can stop this. We can end the genocide. We can end the wars. All we have to do is turn off the tap. Pull the money out. No money for genocide. Set an example for others to follow.” 

Speakers at public comment and the outside rally, including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) spoke to how the Israeli state and complicit companies fund police violence on the streets of Chicago, ICE deportation blitzes around the country, and U.S. imperialist aggression around the world. 

Gianna Escareño, another public commenter and a member of CAARPR, highlighted the ways that Boeing, L3Harris, and Palantir sell weapons and software for genocide in Palestine, and terrorizing immigrant communities in Chicago. Palantir, for example, “uses data to surveil our immigrant communities here at home and they are used in Palestine as well. They develop a kill list that is then used to brutally murder families in Palestine. How disgusting is that?”

At the end of the meeting, the network presented its research on the atrocities that Israel has committed using weapons from companies in the ISBI portfolio. They also presented signatures added to the organization’s divestment petition.

ISBI has still not released their 2025 annual report which should have been released by the end of 2025. The network had to get the data through FOIA, showing the importance of keeping pressure. 

Illinois residents can sign onto the petition demanding ISBI and Frerichs divest from genocide, warmongering, and ICE raid and can keep up with any actions surrounding the campaign by following @antiwarchicago, @BDSchicago, and @USPCN on social media.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #AntiWarChicago #BDSChicago #USPCN #BDS #Divestment

Chicago, IL – Over 60 protesters gathered on the frigid morning of Friday, December 19 outside of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) quarterly meeting. Protesters demanded the board divest from all corporations complicit in Israel’s genocide and occupation against the Palestinian people, and that State Treasurer Michael Frerichs (ISBI’s vice chair) divest from Israel Bonds. 

This action marked the one-year anniversary of protests targeting ISBI and Frerichs co-led by Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC-Chicago) and BDS-Chicago—a project of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). In the last 12 months, the campaign has grown into a network of over 55 organizations throughout Illinois. 

“Illinois is one of the leading state governments in the U.S. in regards to supplying material support to Israel. The state of Illinois has $100 million actively invested in Israeli Bonds,” said Tulsi McDaniels from Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). “[Israel’s] 25 months of slaughter, of destruction, of violence has resulted in a man-made famine affecting over 2 million people in Gaza alone. The governing bodies of Illinois enable this by choosing to renew Israeli bonds.”

River Argyilan from the New Students for a Democratic Society at University of Illinois Chicago (New SDS at UIC) spoke to the board’s investments. Instead of investing Illinoisian public funds “in housing, healthcare and education, ISBI invests our money in war profiteers like Boeing, Cadre Holdings, Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin and Palantir, that directly benefit from bloodshed and genocide in Gaza. While Illinoisans live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to put food on the table, our government funds starvation overseas,” stated Argyilan.

Chanel Crittenden from AWC-Chicago stated, “ISBI has invested millions of dollars in private companies that aid and profit from the federal occupation, raiding and kidnappings of our neighbors. Companies like Motorola Solutions and Cadre Holdings have made a profit-building surveillance technologies and repression tools that have been used by the Israeli occupational forces to repress Palestinians and uphold their apartheid regime.”

After ISBI kept members of the public outside in the cold by delaying their meeting by over an hour, building security let 20 people in one by one, telling them to remove “political paraphernalia” such as keffiyehs and hats with pro-Palestinian or anti-police violence messaging. Over 40 members of the public were left outside the building, in freezing, 10 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures, and were given no access to an overflow area or lobby. 

Once in the meeting room, Noura Ebrahim from BDS-Chicago handed board members research packets describing the complicity of their investments in genocide and attacks on our immigrant communities, including a photo of an empty Cadre Holdings tear gas canister left by ICE during Operation Midway Blitz. She then addressed the board stating, “We know divestment can happen because we have seen it. Michigan has divested from Israel bonds. Minnesota has divested from Israel Bonds. North Carolina has divested from Israel Bonds. What is the holdup, Illinois?”

At the end of public comment, six protesters peacefully linked arms and stated clearly that they would refuse to leave without a verbal confirmation from the board that they would divest. Not only did Illinois State Police violently drag them out of the room and the building, they also aggressively pushed, grabbed and shoved members of the public out of the building. Those people were simply attending the meeting and recording proceedings, which is a legally protected right under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Husam Marajda from USPCN closed the rally, stating, that ISBI “escalated their oppression against us, and so we have to escalate our actions and our pressure. And so let’s make sure that they know, loud and clear, that we’ll be back! We’ll be back!” The crowd joined in the chant, turning their voices up toward the fifth floor of the building where the board members carried on with their meeting.

Sign the letter to divest!

Illinois residents can sign the letter as an individual or endorse as an organization to join the divestment network. For updates about the campaign and further calls to action regarding divestment, follow @uspcn, @bdschicago, and @antiwarchicago on Instagram.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #AWCChicago #USPCN #BDSChicago