Written by Schoenberg Staff Monday, 08 March 2010 08:56
New legislation targeting insurance industry passes Illinois Senate Committee
Schoenberg said the measure was specifically aimed at blocking Illinois-based insurance companies and mutual funds from having financial relationships with Iran, which is defying the international community with its pursuit of nuclear weapons and whose leadership, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has denied the existence of the Holocaust. "As the rogue Iranian regime accelerates its irresponsible efforts to develop nuclear weapons and violently blocks democratic freedoms for its own people, we must continue to exert our financial leverage against the Iranian government in clear and unmistakable terms," Sen. Schoenberg said. Under Senate Bill 3382, an insurance company headquartered in Illinois would be prohibited from acquiring any investment in a country that has been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the State Department, as defined by these three federal laws: • • • Jay Tcath, Senior Vice President of the Jewish United Fund, praised Senator Schoenberg for his efforts on the bill. "Maximizing diplomatic and economic pressure on Tehran is the surest, most peaceful path of keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of the very Iranian rulers who support terror abroad and political repression at home," said Tcath. "It is our job, even here in the American Midwest, to do our part in this global effort, and Senator Schoenberg's latest effort is another meaningful step fulfilling that opportunity and meeting the Iranian challenge. "The clock is ticking, and we hope the Illinois legislature and the governor can transform this idea into law quickly," he added. In 2008, Schoenberg and House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang (D-Skokie) successfully passed a measure that prohibited Illinois’ public pension funds from investing in companies doing business with the Iranian energy sector, which is widely considered to be the funding source for the nation’s nuclear weapons program. To date, over $133 million in funds from the state’s retirement systems have been divested from firms with business ties to the Iranian energy sector. Schoenberg said that this newest legislative proposal was similarly aimed at withholding investment from the countries that harbor and facilitate terrorist activities. Senate Bill 3382 now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration.
SPRINGFIELD, IL – An Illinois Senate committee late last week unanimously approved an initiative by Assistant Majority Leader Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston) that will prohibit Illinois insurance companies from investing in countries that are designated as government sponsors of terrorism by the U.S. Department of State.
Senator Schoenberg Menu
9th District
Assistant Majority Leader
Years served: 1990 - 2002 (House); 2003 - Present (Senate)
Committee assignments: Committee of the Whole; Financial Institutions; Appropriations I (Vice-Chairperson); Appropriations II (Vice-Chairperson); Public Health; Revenue; Revenue Subcommittee on Prop. Taxes; Subcommittee on Amendments.
Biography: House of Representatives, six terms, 1990-2002; Senator Schoenberg, his wife, Lynne Sered, and their two children reside in northwest Evanston.