Inspector finds ‘dormant’ $57 million fund

(The Center Square) – Following an advisory by the Chicago inspector general’s office, the city treasurer has asked the city council to dissolve the Community Catalyst Fund and return its more than $57 million in assets to general funds.

The fund was set up 10 years ago to increase access to public and private investment capital for businesses and organizations in economically underserved areas.

Inspector General David Glockner said the city provided half of the $100 million initially proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, but the fund has been been effectively dormant since 2020.

“The total balance is now about $57 million. The fund had fallen off filing its annual reports. There were also quarterly reports that were supposed to be filed with respect to the investments and were not filed,” Glockner told The Center Square.

Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is the ex officio chair of the catalyst fund’s board of directors. The fund failed to submit annual re...