City Treasurer Kurt Summers Joins The Anti Interest Rate Swap Party

When I saw the press release from the Chicago Teachers Union announcing that city treasurer Kurt Summer had endorsed their litigation against big banks and interest-rate swaps, I thought it was a joke.

                  But this is no joke.

       “To be honest, there are some folks on my team who were worried by the optics of this,” says Summers. “My perspective is consistent. The issue is fiduciary. It’s important to the well being of the city.”

       In short, don’t mess with my banking boys!

       In case he got cold feet, CTU released a statement praising Summers for having “confirmed what [activists] have been saying for years. . .”

       Summers says I shouldn’t be surprised by his political leanings. “I was raised in Chicago—I went to public schools,” he says. “In fact, I went to high school with Jackson Potter [a high-ranking CTU official]. We were on the debate team together.”