Chicago City Council Urges Fund To Divest From Iran
Chicago’s city council urged the city’s largest employee pension fund to divest from Iran.
The council this week unanimously approved a resolution that urged the Municipal Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago to divest from companies doing business with Iran’s energy sector.
Divestment would be gradual. If the fund goes ahead with such a divestment, Chicago would join New York City, Washington, D.C. and 11 other U.S. cities in divesting from businesses involved in Iran. A number of states have also divested from Iran, or are considering legislation that would do so.
The Chicago-area Jewish Community Relations Council lobbied to pass the non-binding resolution.
B’nai B’rith International praised the work of the Chicago City Council in a statement.
“Chicago’s city government has set an important example for other municipalities to get on board to isolate Tehran,” said B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs, a resident of the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Ill. “Sanctions are working. Resolutions such as this are helping unite local governments as well as the global community in a cohesive effort to isolate Iran.”
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