Illinois bans businesses with Sudan ties

A new Illinois state law prohibits the state from doing business with companies that operate in Sudan because of continuing human rights abuses.

The bill, signed into law Saturday, is aimed at pressuring the Sudanese government into ending policies of violence and displacement, said Illinois state Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago, one of the bill's cosponsors.

"Our humanity diminishes whenever we profit from the slaughter and suffering of others," Collins told the Daily Southtown. "This legislation hits the Sudanese government where it counts, in the pocketbook."

Two of Illinois' five pension funds have been given 18 months to redirect $1 billion invested with 32 companies with interests in Sudan.

Federal law prohibits U.S. companies from doing business with Sudan, and the Illinois law targets investments in foreign companies that conduct business in the country and forbids the state treasury from dealing with them.

Exempted from the bill are non-governmental organizations and businesses dealing in humanitarian aid.

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