for more than two years. In addition to the allegations about BMO Harris, the former staffers said Conyears-Ervin used government workers for her own personal benefit, including to plan her daughter’s birthday party and to be her bodyguard, in addition to broad claims Conyears-Ervin repeatedly misused taxpayer resources and pressured public employees to help her political allies.
In the statement, Conyears-Ervin reiterated that her office did reach out to BMO Harris about the mortgage but said “it is my understanding” the loan that was requested did not go through. Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois, said Conyears-Ervin’s comments do not settle the questions.“If the treasurer used her position to pressure the bank to provide a mortgage or more favorable loan terms for her family’s personal gain, that is a clear violation of ethics rules and a deeply troubling abuse of her office. But we just don’t know enough yet to say whether that’s what occurred,” she said.