“It’s a bold statement, isn’t it?” Those words of Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin hardly capture the moment. Yesterday, Conyears-Ervin declared that her office would no longer invest in U.S. Treasury bonds to protest what she called the “authoritarian regime” of President Donald Trump. It is more bonkers than bold. It makes about as much sense as President Trump saying that he will not eat deep-dish pizza to protest Chicago.
My hometown of Chicago is facing an economic meltdown due to towering debt and massive spending. Mayor Ben Johnson and the unions have pushed self-destructive tax schemes and borrowing plans that would only accelerate the flight from the city and the collapse of the city’s finances.
Now, the person in charge of investing that money is declaring that politics rather than economics will guide investments.
It is the ultimate virtue signaling at the cost of others. She is given a fiduciary duty to properly maintain and protect the investments of the city, which is currently facing a rising debt crisis. She is saying that the city will not invest in what Ald. Bill Conway (34th), a former investment banker, correctly described as “by far the most liquid and secure debt instrument in the history of the world.”
Chicago has held almost a quarter of a billion dollars in Treasury bonds in the last three years due to its healthy return for citizens. To forego such investments is Kamikaze economics, destroying your own portfolio and investors as a demonstration of true faith.
The position hurts only Chicagoans. However, the loss to the citizens could still provide gains to Conyears-Ervin, who is running to replace radical Chicago congressman, Danny Davis. Her announcement is meant to tap into the rage as she declared: “Chicagoans do not want us to bankroll the regime — the authoritarian regime — of Donald Trump where he has waged a war on our city. It’s a bold statement, isn’t it? And we need it to be.”
So, a city collapsing under debt will forego investing in one of the most secure debt instruments in the world.
Let’s recap. Mayor Johnson wants to float massive bonds to avoid cutting the budget while taxing large businesses for every new person that they employ. At the same time, the city will not invest in bonds that guarantee the most secure investment of money currently in city coffers.
This is coming in a week when many are questioning the logic of the government shutdown. After losing billions and putting many families and travelers into duress, the Democrats agreed to basically the identical clean CR that was offered over a month earlier. Yet, Conyears-Ervin makes that effort seem brilliant in comparison.
It is the same logic as burning money as a way to prevent its theft.
It is not clear where the money will go. Antifa does not currently offer an investment fund option that guarantees a total political return with no capital gains. On the other hand, over $200 billion is practically hard to stuff in the mattress of Conyears-Ervin.
This could work out in the end, resulting in practically no loss due to the new investment policies. As Johnson virtually chases businesses out of the city, there will be less money to invest. Problem solved.
Are U.S. Treasury bonds really that safe? We have flirted with default a couple of times, and we just experienced the longest government shutdown in our history.
Additionally, there have been credit rating downgrades for the U.S. government in the past, along with our ever-increasing national debt. Perhaps Chicago is onto something, or maybe it’s just tough talk, akin to Trump’s style. Trump has quietly been lowering tariffs on goods that we cannot produce or grow, essentially continuing a practice that has always been common.
Are U.S. Treasury bonds really that safe? Yes, safest in the world. Ask the Chinese, they own $758 B. Down from $1.3 T. They’re buying gold now.
Your comments are getting weaker by the day. Try harder.
The Chinese have been selling off their US bonds for some time now. They are getting rid of them over time. $1.3 T to $758B is not a good thing fo the US.
Perhaps we should cut the deficit?
“Perhaps Chicago is onto something . . .”
US Treasury bond credit rating is AA+. Chicago’s is BBB (negative outlook).
Care to spitball about something else?
You try it sam, just don’t do it into the wind.
Epstein files are coming out. Confirm Bill Clinton, who was just selected and paid by Democrats to be their keynote speaker at DNC annual convention, is a serial pedo. Other notable Democrat pedos also confirmed in those files are:
Billionaire Democrat activist Reid Hoffman, who bankrolled Biden election campaigns to be White House Chief Incest Pedo and New York politicians to change law and then Jean Carroll in order for her to sue Trump.
Billionaire Democrat activist and Obama’s close friend, Richard Branson
Billionaire former Democrat Vice President Al Gore
Billionaire Democrat political activist actor, George Clooney
Billionaire Democrat political activist actor, Leonardo DiCaprio
Billionaire Democrat political activist actor, Dustin Hoffman
Still nothing about Trump, unfortunately.
But the Epstein files are coming out… and Biden, Obama and their Attorney Generals like Merrick Garland and indicted former FBI Director Comey might have missed something about Trump in those files.
Serial pedo, seems to run in the presidency.
Yeah, amazing what republicans vote for.
Unlike Biden/Kennedy or Clinton.
Nice try, but you failed big tme
Yep but biden is out now.
Ano
The files will NOT come out. O-dumber judges keep putting on the brakes.
I wonder why?
I cut off my nose to spite my face. It worked….my face now hates me.
It is astonishing that Chicago folks continue to vote for Democrat candidates who are such poor leaders. Are Republicans even on Chicago ballots? If so, I would vote for Rwpublican the next time I voted to see if things improved.
Another biden nightmare is fixed. Thanks Prez Trump
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Trump Admin to Make Big Oil Buy in Bid to Refill Reserves Biden Drained
By Audrey Streb, Daily Caller News Foundation • Nov. 12, 2025
Democrats will invest in Cuba and Venezuelan bonds
Currently, there are no marketable securities such as stocks or bonds issued by Cuban entities available to foreign investors, and portfolio investment in Cuba consists mainly of non-tradable instruments like certificates of deposit. As for Venezuelan bonds, there is no international market for their outstanding debt. It uses mostly public IUOs. But the coke trade really helps even out budget fluctuations.
“no marketable securities ”
Even if there were securities from those countries that were available in the marketplace, they would still fall far short of what a rational investor would consider “marketable” unless discounted to below junk rates.
This is proof positive that there is a God. Only an all-loving being could create so many idiots and allow them to roam our little planed in joy and bliss.
Yes, there is, but this planet is pretty much on its own.
This is just one example. If any dems are searching for reasons for their massive losses; look right here.
Working against americans *might* be a losing strategy for dems but I suggest they quadruple down on it and see if they can recover.
After all, what do they have left that’s working for them? Let’s see how truly un-american they can be.
Chicago has a fiduciary duty on how to manage funds and what instruments, grades they can invest in.
The question I have, how they have $200 MM (cash) in the bank? Socialism must be working in Chicago.
Income, eg property tax revenue, comes in 1-2x per year while expensives dribble out monthly.
It’s just float like any corporation or bank, for instance. It’s short-term money on which you can earn interest but when you have to pay bills, it better be liquid…hence Treasury instruments for perfect liquidity.
In addition: Bank float refers to the temporary double-counting of funds within the banking system due to delays in processing deposits or withdrawals, particularly with paper checks.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded Chicago’s GO bond rating from ‘BBB+’ to ‘BBB’ on January 14, 2025, citing a “sizable structural budgetary imbalance” in the 2025 budget that will make future fiscal balancing more challenging.
S&P affirmed a stable outlook, noting the city’s strong reserves and liquidity, and commended the $272 million advance pension payment as essential for fiscal stability.
Reads like an AI query.
$200M of taxpayers money in the bank and Socialism always works until you run out of other people’s money. That fixes it for you, enjoy!
Yeah not a good buy. Much like Calif debt
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Chicago has a large and complex debt burden, driven significantly by its underfunded pension systems, which are estimated to be
over $35.9 billion. This has led to high debt-per-taxpayer figures and is often cited as the reason for the city’s financial challenges,
The uncovered pension liabilities throughout Illinois are a long-standing breach of fiduciary obligations to the detriment of all tax payers in the State.
“. . . Conyears-Ervin declared that her office would no longer invest in U.S. Treasury bonds . . .” (JT)
Here’s an investment tip for her that’s more consistent with Chicago’s politics: Venezuelan bonds.
The socialist government’s inflation rate is some *270%*. So she might want to ensure that those bonds are inflation-indexed.
Or just invest in Venezuelan coke?
Naaa. They are having a hard time when it comes to shipping these days
Is this what National Dysphoria looks like in Chicago?
The phrase itself has been used before, but J.D. Oliver’s use of it refers to something different — a civic condition, not a psychological one.
Under that civic definition, National Dysphoria describes a society that has become unmoored from its own identity: where people forget the shared principles that once held them together as citizens. When that happens, policy stops being rational and becomes tribal.
So Chicago refuses the safest investment on earth simply because it carries Trump’s name. That isn’t fiscal prudence — it’s civic self-harm, exactly the kind of behavior this definition of National Dysphoria predicts: a city acting against its own interests to satisfy a narrative.
Viewed through that lens, Chicago is showing the classic symptoms.
So what does National Dysphoria have to do with selling COC bonds or unloading T-Bills?
Since you’re not privy to the conversations, you can’t know what the rational is. You’re guessing, and making up a story.
He’s postulating.
National Dysphoria is exactly what happens when symbolism replaces stewardship.
You don’t need insider access to see a city refusing the safest investment on earth just because of a name.
That’s not fiscal strategy — it’s tribal politics dressed up as policy.
That’s not what the guy above said. So you’re an expert too? Credentials?
No credentials needed to spot nonsense.
You don’t have to be an “expert” to see a city lighting its own money on fire.
Common sense is enough — which is why some people find it so threatening.
So you’re endowed with an overabundance of common sense? Just you?
Did you actually witness Chicago burning money?
Have you seen Chicago credit ratting. BBB not a good buy.
I think it’s called “shooting yourself in the foot.” One wonders at the hubris of a mayor who is willing to cause financial harm to his city and its residents because he disagrees with the current POTUS.
Suze
Political theater to distract from the train wreck of his own negligence. Once their platform of racism no longer stands, they have to get by on their own merit. In this case they have DEImerits, aka Failure.
Exactly, Suze — “shooting yourself in the foot” is the simple version. The civic version is worse: leaders harming their own city just to signal loyalty to a narrative.
That’s how National Dysphoria shows itself — when symbolism matters more than stewardship, and the people pay the price.
Lotta dysphoria in your comment.
“Lotta dysphoria in your comment.”
Even more diarrhea in yours, clown…
OLLY,
Great comments OLLY. It would take someone with such a degree of unhinged TDS to forgo their civic and fiduciary duty and commit financial suicide. This is what insanity looks like.
Thanks, Upstate — exactly right. It takes a special level of derangement to abandon both civic duty and fiduciary responsibility just to score a political point.
When leaders are willing to bankrupt their own city to feed their hatred, that’s not governance — that’s insanity wearing a suit.
You have zero proof . From your cellar you see it all happening? So LA, DC, Boston, NYC, SF etc. are failing because of TDS? Go write a comic book you silly thing.
Proof? The cities you listed are drowning in debt, losing people, and driving out businesses.
I don’t need a periscope, a telescope, or a magnifying glass to see that — the decline is visible to anyone not trying to hide it.
When politics replaces stewardship, collapse isn’t speculation…it’s predictable.
OLLY,
Correct. Just look at the failed state of CA.
Olly
Remember Fritz the Cat? Chicago crows declare war against the United States thinking they will surrender and receive money to rebuild their war torn City. In the movie, the United States surrenders immediately and seeks restitution from the Crows…
Eerily similar to a 60’s propaganda comic book movie!
Remember Fritz the Cat
__________________
Wasn’t that the first XXX cartoon?
Funny you mention Fritz the Cat — the parody becomes prophecy when the politics become cartoonish.
Chicago’s leadership really does act like it can declare symbolic war on the rest of the country and somehow get paid for the damage it inflicts on itself.
That’s what happens when ideology replaces stewardship: the script stops looking like government and starts looking like animation.
“Chicago refuses the safest investment on earth simply because it carries Trump’s name”
It doesn’t even literally do that, does it? If not, it’s assignment of guilt by peripheral and temporary association, which is one of the stupidest modes of behavior possible for investment decisions.
Exactly — that’s what makes it even worse. It’s not about the instrument itself; it’s about symbolic association.
They’re rejecting a secure investment not because of the numbers, but because of the narrative — which is about the dumbest basis for fiscal decisions imaginable.
When politics overrides prudence, the taxpayers always get the bill.
American is back in business. Thanks Prez Trump
_________________________________
President Donald Trump ended the longest U.S. government shutdown in history, signing a funding bill passed by both chambers of Congress.
The House shutdown vote was 222 members saying “yea,” and 209 members voting “nay.”
Federal workers were told to report back to their jobs on Thursday.
I read that the Democrats little shut down stunt cost the American people another trillion dollars. The Democrats would sacrifice their own children to maintain power snd control. People are seeing through their lies and stupidity.
Well played Trump!
“I read that the Democrats little shut down stunt cost the American people another trillion dollars. ”
Maybe it should have been left in shut-down mode. That seemed to be the prevailing opinion expressed by today’s stock market results.
The Trustee of Chicago’s likely Chapter 9 Bankruptcy will likely frown on a portfolio of stocks and bonds from CCP and Venezuela that replaced U.S. Treasuries.
Its called the PRC, people srepublic of china, it not abbreviated CCP, thats the Chinese Communist Party.
Same thing
Really? Prove it. Use wilipedia for help.
There is NOTHING that comes from China that is not under the control of the CCP.
Prove you’re not the idiot that you exhibit yourself as here on a daily basis, now that would be a true challenge! Now, back to the basement, grown ups are conversing.
“Use wilipedia for help.”
Is that where you make up fraudulent “facts” while pulling on your “wili”?
The accelerating trend in America to make the accumulation of personal wealth the most important aspect of social status has now destroyed civic responsibility as an admired goal. Thus the least educated and least competent, who cannot compete for this status are now filling the ranks of “civil servants.” At the top are the American “aristos,” the sons of those who accumulated wealth, but did not provide the genetic material for their sons to continue to do so. Thus, Pritzger and Newsom. And serving these American nobles are the most vocal of a permanent class of peasants with meaningless “credentials” and tribal memberships, such as the imbecilic “treasurer” described here and the genuinely stupid current Mayor of Chicago. The ancient Caesars abandoned Rome for Ravenna when Rome fell to its own mob. It will be the,same for Chicago.
History repeats itself, you’re say? So Johnson coordinated Chicago’s downfall with Rome?
Trump admits to NYT he’s into kiddie p0rn.
A New York Times reporter was tipping Jeffrey Epstein off to people poking around and asking questions about him.
Nothing about Pres Trump.. sorry charlie
I read that too. And in the Washington Times. Read that Trump left DC destination unknown with F-15 escort.
???????????? Try that again
Obama admits he likes Cok & Kok Mooch admits she’s bald with hairweaves
Biden admits he’s admitted
Kamala admits she’s just stupid
Nancy admits she got caught J6
Newsome admits he’s a snail
Schiff admits his Dad was a watermelon farmer
We can do this ALL day long
From the actual files, it appears Pritzkers brother was nut deep in the ACTUAL Epstein scandal. I believe there is actual real evidence and testimony to this as there is to the prior Israeli Prime Minister. Where’s your concern towards actual perpetrators rather than your moronic unsubstantiated claims about Trump? We’ll all wait for your response.
Who on earth would buy Chicago bonds???
If you dont have any money, except for your SS, you cant afford them?
Are you sure. Not like that city is doing great
Kristin
As the great orator Joseph Robinette Biden once mumbled, “Republicans wanna put you back in chains “. With a stupid move as this and the economic negligence from these Democratic Socialists, one must ask, Who is really gonna put you back in chains now?
Bondage is bondage, whether economic or by physical chains.
Elections have consequences.
What the Chicago Treasurer has done is ensure investors will now demand to be paid higher interest rates to hold debt securities issued by the city of Chicago. That’s because they now know she is not driven by economic rationality but irrational politics. That makes holding Chicago munis riskier. They will demand to be compensated for that risk with higher interest rates.
Stated differently: Chicago taxpayers will have to pay higher interest rates on munis issued by the city of Chicago because the city’s Treasurer is an economic idiot.
Yes, there are many reasons the interest rate will need to be higher – the risk is much higher. I remember when the bank bonds were paying 20% before the financial crisis. Have to compensate for the risk.
Breaking news, NYT: Trump admits he diddled a child.
Wrong.. But the NYT sure helped the real pedo
A New York Times reporter was tipping Jeffrey Epstein off to people poking around and asking questions about him.
I read that too. MAGA is dead…. yeah!
LOL.. yeah good luck with that one..
Noticed Nothing about Prez Trump, if it was true the NYT would have posted it
Its being reported Melania left Trump after MTG showed her photos. Don Jr. publicly distances himself from Don.
Man can you smell the desperation from Ano’s & libs on this website.
I so love it…. Losers
DustOff,
They truly are a sad bunch. Even their lies have become lame.
The child is named and has testified in 2016 Trump was a perfect gentleman. The child was Virginia Giuffre. Progressively stupid people are annoying.
Face it, LIES lie…. It’s all they left
Virginia Giuffre, the one he had murdered by the CIA?
Yup that one
Any news on the release date for Brandon Johnson’s long anticipated book: ‘If DEI Took Over a City, Would We Call It Chicago?’
Epstein files are coming, Trump is a ped0.
Yawn.. you poor libs go nothing
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Great news…. President Trump Signs Bill Ending Shutdown, Makes Remarks About the Future
If Trump is a ped0, and all ped0’s are able to run the gov’t the way he does, we need to elect more ped0’s. Remember the Dem mantra, the ends justify the means!
Chicago has held almost a quarter of a billion dollars in Treasury bonds … disinvest and spread the wealth among the citizens. Long live Brandon!
Ano
disinvest and spread the wealth among the citizens. Long live Brandon!
LOL… and go broke… OOPS to late
How is his UN thing working out?