Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin will\u00a0pay a $30,000 fine to settle two ethics cases stemming from findings that she\u00a0misused taxpayer resources for personal\u00a0and political purposes and improperly fired whistleblowers, the city announced.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Board of Ethics found in April 2024 that Conyears-Ervin violated the city\u2019s ethics ordinance<\/a> 12 times and issued the maximum fine of $60,000, or $5,000 per breach. In keeping with its rules, the ethics board did not name Conyears-Ervin at the time, but the Tribune identified her as the subject of the board\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n The board found that Conyears-Ervin used city time and resources to plan, schedule and coordinate appearances at four churches to \u201cfurther (her) personal and political objectives, including but not limited to promoting the candidacy of two individuals for state office,\u201d according to the\u00a0settlement agreement\u00a0released this week.<\/p>\n The board also found probable cause in November 2023 that Conyears-Ervin violated the city\u2019s ethics code by firing two top aides<\/a> who alleged she repeatedly misused taxpayer resources and pressured public employees to help her political allies.<\/p>\n Conyears-Ervin, a West Side Democrat, is running for Congress to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.<\/p>\n In a statement, Conyears-Ervin denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n \u201cI strenuously reject the claim that my conduct was unethical or that I misused any resources, but I am not a wealthy person like Donald Trump who can spend endlessly on lawyers against the government,\u201d Conyears-Ervin wrote.<\/p>\n Steve Berlin, executive director of the city\u2019s Board of Ethics, declined to comment for this story but thanked \u201cthe Office of Inspector General for its thorough work in these matters.\u201d Inspector General Deborah Witzburg also declined to comment.<\/p>\n The settlement follows internal complaints from several now-former employees of the treasurer\u2019s office who accused Conyears-Ervin of ethical lapses or misusing public resources for her private benefit. Those details were only made public after the Tribune filed a complaint<\/a> with the Illinois attorney general\u2019s office alleging they were being improperly withheld under the Freedom of Information Act.<\/p>\n The allegations filed by the two top Conyears-Ervin aides date to November 2020, when the treasurer dismissed her chief of staff, Tiffany Harper, and other top aides as part of what she termed an office shake-up. The Tribune first reported in September that Harper and another high-ranking employee, Ashley Evans, alleged they were retaliated against and fired after reporting Conyears-Ervin had engaged in a series of unethical and illegal acts.<\/p>\n Harper and Evans, who had been the treasurer\u2019s chief impact officer, contended in a December 2020 letter that Conyears-Ervin used a staffer to plan her daughter\u2019s birthday party and another employee to be her bodyguard. They also outlined broad allegations that Conyears-Ervin repeatedly misused taxpayer resources and pressured public employees to help her political allies.<\/p>\n In addition, Harper and Evans alleged Conyears-Ervin attempted to force BMO Harris \u2014 one of\u00a0 banks where city money is deposited \u2014 to issue a mortgage tied to the building that houses the aldermanic office for the treasurer\u2019s husband, Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th. The landlord, a longtime family friend of the couple, told the Tribune he used to drive Conyears-Ervin to school when she was growing up.<\/p>\n Conyears-Ervin has defended asking BMO Harris to help a family friend. Conyears-Ervin has also denied having public employees run personal errands for her while they were on duty but declined to address whether they did work for her on their personal time.<\/p>\n The 2020 letter also said the treasurer used \u201cCity resources to advance the agenda of several churches and other religious organizations, many of which support her and her husband \u2026 politically and turn out church members to vote for their respective campaigns.\u201d Those events included a \u201cpanel and praise\u201d series of events, where she chose the pastors to highlight, and a \u201cBack to School Citywide Prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n Staff members told Conyears-Ervin she could not \u201cspend city money to promote religion,\u201d but she \u201cnot only refused to stop the events but also insisted that she could handpick the prayer leaders (including her political supporters) rather than open the opportunity to all faiths, justifying it by saying that she wanted religious leaders who preached consistently with the Christian Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement released shortly after the letter became public, Conyears-Ervin acknowledged she \u201cdidn\u2019t go far enough to make sure that the \u2018Back-to-School Citywide Prayer\u2019 event was representative of a range of faiths, and that was a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy religion is extremely important to me, but I would never want to do anything to offend or exclude anyone from another faith,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot\u2019s administration agreed to pay $100,000 to settle<\/a> the whistleblower claims by Harper and Evans.<\/p>\n