Genocide’s lobbyist

On 23 February, Reuter’s breathlessly reported what amounted to Reinsch’s line:   “An Illinois law barring state-backed investments in non-U.S. companies doing business in Sudan to protest genocide in the Darfur region was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge on Friday.” It went on to note that “The ruling by [Judge Kennelly] could impact similar laws enacted in the past year in at least eight other U.S. states and proposals being considered by several other state legislatures.”

Reinsch himself was quoted as saying that “the ruling means pension funds won’t have to sell assets’ in order to comply with Illinois’ law.”   If he were right, international companies including, according to evidence in the judge’s official ruling, some represented by the National Foreign Trade Council would be able to continue do business with and in Sudan, and thereby enable its malevolent behavior.

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Fortunately, Reinsch’s spin notwithstanding, the judge did not find that it was   unconstitutional for Illinois or other states to require their public pension funds to divest the stocks of companies that partner with terror-sponsoring regimes.   Rather, he judged two, relatively minor features of the Illinois legislation to be incompatible with the Constitution.  The first deals with certain prohibitions on the deposit of state funds in banks that have clients that have ties to Sudan.   The second concerned the statute’s overreaching when it required divestment on the part of small municipal and employee pension funds which have no state money in them.

The true character of the federal court ruling is captured by the Illinois law’s chief sponsor, State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago), who issued a press release yesterday in which she “applauded the recent court decision that affirmed Illinois’ right to divest from Sudan.”  

The Court confirmed the State’s right to disassociate from the reign of genocide and terrorism that has been killing and maiming thousands of our sisters and brothers in Sudan. And for that, we’re very pleased.

The Court has confirmed that State divestment from Sudan is not pre-empted by the federal government’s authority to conduct foreign affairs.  The Court has confirmed that corporations are not irreparably harmed’ by divestment, and have no grounds to enjoin State divestment.   The Court has confirmed that nothing prevents other States from following our lead.

Hundreds of pension funds across the state have been divesting from Sudan in good faith.   Taking into account the guidance that we’ve received from the Court, we will move quickly to promote the State goal of disassociating from genocide and terrorism.  (Emphasis added throughout.)

The Center for Security Policy commends Sen. Collins for her leadership in using Terror-Free Investing as a tool to counteract the Khartoum regime’s genocide, slave-trading, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and sponsorship of terror.   If, as seems likely, she and her colleagues in the Illinois legislature move swiftly to enact amendments that will correct the relatively minor technical faults found by Judge Kennelly with this legislation, the Land of Lincoln will continue to provide an example to the Nation and contribute in strategically vital ways to its war against terrorists and those who enable them.