Statewide campaign aims to end Illinois’ investment in Israel

Activists protest outside of the Illinois State Board of Investment in Chicago on June 20, 2025. (Photo: Paul Goyette)

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs has been investing in Israel for nearly a decade. Since becoming the sole fiduciary of the fifth-largest GDP in the country in January 2015, he has invested tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into the Development Corporation of Israel (“DCI”). DCI is the underwriter for “Israel Bonds,” uninsured debt securities issued by the Israeli government to raise capital for the country. The idea to pitch these kinds of bonds originated after the 1948 Nakba, when the new state was critically short on economic resources.

According to the the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, the state of Illinois currently has $100 million invested in Israel Bonds.

But a growing number of Illinoisans have had enough and are pushing back on Frerichs’ agenda. Members of a local union recently filed an ethics complaint against him with the state, the same month an Illinois senator introduced legislation to stop him from this investing. Coalitions of grassroots activists are hosting divestment seminars to educate the public on where the treasurer is sending their money, while others are organizing public protests, facilitating letter writing campaigns and petitions, and developing potential legal challenges. Illinois activist Noura Ebrahim believes that this opposition illustrates the true essence of people power: “Ordinary people, united in purpose, can challenge deeply rooted systems of violence and injustice.” 

Frerichs first bought $10 million in Israel Bonds in March 2016. Afterwards he visited Israel as a guest of the Chicago lobbying organization Jewish United Fund, advancing “the special relationship between the Jewish State and the State of Illinois.” He subsequently invested another $10 million in October that same year, followed by $10 million again in November 2017, and $10 million in April 2018. 

Then from October 2023 to April 2025, Frerichs announced four separate investments in Israel Bonds, totaling $55 million dollars. Despite Israel’s illegal escalation of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, Frerichs proudly invested $10 million on October 12, 2023; $20 million on November 2, 2023; $15 million on February 3, 2025; and $10 million on March 4, 2025. While Illinoisans watched war crimes unfold from their phones in horror, Frerichs’ office issued glowing press releases with each investment, hailing the virtues of “our Israeli friends” and showing Illinois’ strong commitment to Israel. 

Frerichs also materially supports Israel in his role as the vice chair of the Illinois State Board of Investments (“ISBI”), which has invested millions of resident retirement funds in companies profiting from the ongoing genocide. Local activists have uncovered that as of March 2025, ISBI holds 20,621 shares in weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin. ISBI invests in Boeing, General Dynamics, Honeywell, and Northrop Grumman, all companies heavily reliant on Israel’s success. Illinois comptroller Susana Mendoza is also a member of the ISBI board. Mendoza has repeated debunked Israeli talking points about Gaza, while explicitly saying what’s being done to Palestinians “is not a genocide.”

Israel relies on support from Frerichs and others like him. A recent Bloomberg report cited a record $5 billion of debt for Israel sold via Israel Bonds since October 7. This makes sense; expanding an apartheid state is expensive. In the 20 months since October 7, much like after the Nakba, Israel has again required enormous capital for the next phase of its settler colonial project. 

In response to an inquiry for this story, Frerichs’ office defended the investment:

“The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office stands by its investment decisions. We have addressed this issue numerous times in public forums. We made these investments because it is our job to get the best investment returns for taxpayers. These are stable investments that generate among the highest returns in the state portfolio. Treasurer Frerichs has expressed his extreme displeasure with the current Israeli government, his continued support for a two-state solution, the need for Hamas to release all hostages, the crucial need for humanitarian aid, and the imperative for a negotiated ceasefire.”

The treasurer’s office also highlighted the state’s historical connection to the Israel Bonds program. “There is a longstanding Illinois tie to Israel Bonds. Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, first considered seeking direct investment through Israel bonds in 1950 and the first sale in the United States was completed the following year,” the office added in a statement. “The relationship between Illinois and Israel Bonds goes back to that beginning. Peoria resident Sam Rothberg was a founder of the Israel Bonds program. Worldwide sales of Israel Bonds have exceeded $53 billion since ‘Sam from Peoria’ became a part of Israel Bonds in 1951.”

Activists demand divestment

On February 26, 2025, over 30 Illinoisans filed an ethics complaint against Frerichs with the Office of Executive Inspector General for the State Treasurer (“OEIG”) under the name “73 For Palestine” (a collective of the labor union SEIU Local 73 members and retirees). The complaint explains, among other things, that Frerichs’s investments in Israel Bonds constitutes abuse of authority, corruption, favoritism, improper use of state time, and misuse of public assets. It cites violations of numerous Illinois statutes, including 5 ILCS 430 5-15, which outlines the prohibitions on political activities by a state official. The OEIG said that they could not comment on investigations. 

Frerichs’ opponents believe these investments are purely politically motivated. SEIU 73 member and complaint author Gaby Martinez hopes the complaint will further the goal of censuring Frerichs and eventually seeing Illinois divest from these bonds. “[He] is not investing for the people of Illinois, but for his own personal political agenda in support of Israel,” Martinez says. “73 for Palestine” believes that they invest their time, resources, and funds into their local Illinois communities, and they expect Illinois politicians to do the same. The complaint states that Frerichs is taking away valuable resources from those in need in the state of Illinois, and funding genocide instead.  

Other organizations are also actively mobilizing to stop Frerichs. The coalition Illinois Divest aims to see Frerichs divest from DCI. It includes members from organizations like American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago, and Dissenters Chicago. The coalition has been hosting “Divestment 101” community teach-ins, organizing canvassing events, and strategizing with legal experts at the Internationalist Law Center to analyze Frerichs’ investment patterns. Coalition member Sofia Sinnokrot believes these sustained efforts will unite people so that taxpayers can take back control of their money and the future of their communities. She values the work Illinoisans did in the 1980’s during the South African anti-apartheid movement and knows the people of Illinois will keep protesting Frerichs until he stops investing in these bonds. “This is not just a campaign, it’s a re-awakening and a call to action to shift the power,” said Sinnokrot.

The Illinois Divestment Campaign is another growing movement backed by over 50 organizations across the state led by the Anti-War Committee Chicago (“AWC”) and BDS Chicago–a project of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (“USPCN”)–calling for Illinois to divest from companies and financial instruments complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation in Palestine. Formally launched in October 2024 after months of preparation, the campaign demands a clear shift in state investment priorities, away from war, apartheid, and genocide, and towards meeting the urgent housing, education, healthcare, and infrastructure needs of local communities. BDS Chicago and AWC maintain an online petition, currently with over 2,000 letters sent to Frerichs’ office, asking taxpayers to demand this reprioritization. 

Noura Ebrahim, USPCN member and BDS Chicago coordinator, explained that the campaign has organized a sustained and escalating series of actions, including public comment and disruption at three ISBI board meetings. The campaign has also launched coordinated email and phone actions, along with mass social media efforts directed towards Frerichs. In response, Ebrahim says that Frerichs has blocked numerous constituents– “an alarming act of silencing dissent and dodging accountability from the very people he is elected to serve.” AWC also believes that police directives given to protestors during the recent June 20 ISBI board meeting violated section 2.0 of the Illinois Open Meetings Act, as only a subset of protestors were granted access to the building to address Frerichs and the Board directly. 

Bryan Maxwell, an organizer in Champaign-Urbana, has been working on a similar campaign to bring awareness to Frerichs’ investments. Maxwell called these investments “unpopular” and “immoral” and is urging concerned citizens in other cities across the state to publish opinion pieces educating constituents on Frerichs’ investments. According to Maxwell, “over 70% of Urbana voters said they didn’t want our government sending military aid to Israel … no doubt those same voters don’t want their state tax money used to support that same government.” With Frerichs up for reelection potentially in November 2026, lack of support downstate could be impactful, given Frerichs grew up in Champaign County. Maxwell traveled with members from the Champaign area organizations CU Muslim Action Committee and UC Jews for Ceasefire to the most recent June 20 ISBI meeting in Chicago to protest Frerichs’ investment. 

Further downstate, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Emeritus Professor of Middle East and Islamic History Steve Tamari, who was brutalized by police while protesting with encampment students last spring, is working with Maxwell. Professor Tamari recently published an op-ed denouncing these investments, noting that Illinois is just one of only two blue states to have ramped up their investing in Israel since October 2023. He also plans to collaborate with Springfield area residents to spread the word, as well as utilize the numerous anti-Trump protests in Illinois communities like O’Fallen or Alton to spark one-on-one conversations regarding Frerichs’ investments in foreign interests. 

Ethics complaint

The “73 for Palestine” ethics complaint also takes issue with the fact that Israel Bonds investors are blind–they have no idea where the funds are actually being spent. Israel Bonds’ website contains a list of “Talking Points” that merely indicates investors will be contributing to “Jewish-Zionist values” and a “commitment to strengthen and secure our people, our state and our future.” It further states that every dollar invested “is a dollar invested in strengthening the achievement of the dreamers, founders and builders of Israel to create a state, a life and a future for the Jewish people.” Investing in a “future for the Jewish people” to the detriment of Palestinians appears to be blatant favoritism, while simultaneously ignoring a massive part of Frerichs’ constituency: Illinois is home to more Palestinians than anywhere else in the United States.

Frerichs’ constituents can’t even obtain complete Israel Bonds records. DCI, as a private entity, is not subject to FOIA requests. A May 20, 2025 report, Downgraded by War, published by the author LittleSis and the Action Center for Race and the Economy, explains that taxpayers are “loaning money to the State of Israel without knowledge and with no transparency in how the State of Israel uses those funds.”  

According to the nonprofit entity Democracy for the Arab World Now (“DAWN”), Israel Bonds is an unregistered foreign agent in violation of the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Months before October 7, DAWN called on the Department of Justice to investigate Israel Bonds because of its ability to “raise billions of dollars” and lobby to change American laws in support of Israeli policy while “avoiding the mandatory oversight and transparency the foreign agent statute requires.” DAWN described Israel Bonds as a “slush fund” for the Israeli government.

Related concerns led State Senator Rachel Ventura (D, 43^rd District) to introduce SB2449 to the Illinois Senate in February 2025. The pending bill seeks to amend the Deposit of State Moneys Act, by removing a provision that would allow Frerichs to invest state money in bonds and similar obligations of a foreign government. Senator Ventura explained that she believes this type of investment is not appropriate at the state level. She questioned its fiscal responsibility and thinks these funds could be better invested elsewhere. She requested financial data from Frerichs’ office, such as rates of return on foreign investments, but has not yet received it. 

This financial data is critical. Frerichs often defends this investing by repeating that Israel Bonds have never defaulted. But in March 2024, Reuters reported that the government’s bonds had underperformed over the prior six months. And then in September 2024, Moody’s downgraded Israel’s credit rating two levels to its lowest rating ever, just above junk status, and maintained a negative outlook for investment in view of the escalation of violence in the region. The decision was made because of the intensifying “geopolitical risk” which had significantly increased, “to [a] very high level” with “material negative consequences for Israel’s creditworthiness in both the near and longer term.” Frerichs is undeterred, having reinvested twice since the downgrade. 

Frerichs isn’t the only politician dishing out money to Israel. Since October 7, over 115 other state and municipal funds across the US have sunk more than $1.7 billion into Israel Bonds. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (“ICIJ”), Israel Bonds makes extensive efforts to appeal to public officials. 

Between October 2023 and June 2024, Israel Bonds solicited Frerichs’ office over 60 times for investments. While most of these were form email blasts, in April 2024, Israel Bonds emphatically begged Frerichs directly for money, writing “the State of Israel has asked us to raise more funds.” Another solicitation blast tells Frerichs, “they say divest, we say double down,” a shocking request that an elected official ignore his constituents in favor of foreign interests. Other emails from Israel Bonds to Frerichs’ office note “the importance of supporting unconditionally our beloved State of Israel.” Frerichs even received a personalized letter directly from Israel’s Accountant General himself, expressing his deepest appreciation for Frerichs’ “unwavering commitment” to advancing Israel and Illinois’ “shared interests.” 

As reported by the ICIJ, officials who dutifully fulfill these handout requests are rewarded with many attractive perks. Israel Bonds frequently invites Frerichs to attend “exclusive” meetings, webinars, parties, galas, and other events with high-profile Israeli government and military leadership. For example, Frerichs attended an Israel Bonds event in March 2023 in Washington D.C. and promptly submitted his travel expenses to the corporation for reimbursement. The ICIJ attempted to investigate whether this violated the Illinois statute that prohibits public officials from accepting gifts of over $100 from companies that do business with Illinois, but received no response from Frerichs’ office. 

A growing movement

A new Quinnipiac poll shows that among Democrats, just 12% sympathize more with Israel, the fewest that has ever been reported since the question was first polled in 2001. Activists in Ohio and Rhode Island have seen significant recent progress in their goal to divest from Israel Bonds. Illinois activists are hopeful the tide is starting to turn.

Bryan Maxwell said that Frerichs seemed “rattled” by the constituents expressing their outrage over his behavior at the most recent ISBI meeting. Noura Ebrahim noted that each action hosted by their campaign has seen increased participation, signaling growing momentum and fueling optimism. “Every action, every phone call, every voice raised in protest shows that Illinoisans are standing up against genocide, colonial violence, and repression,” says Ebrahim.