Bart Chilton
Encyclopedia
Bart Chilton is a commissioner on the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC). Chilton has been a vocal supporter of position limits in commodities markets. He has exposed manipulation practices in commodities markets and gone on record as wanting to prosecute violations of law, which he believes have taken place in the silver market.
and grew up in Ogden Dunes, Indiana
. Both his father and grandfather were engineers. His father, a mechanical engineer, patent
ed a way to create a self-standing artificial Christmas tree. DuPont
's Thomas H. Chilton
Laboratory in Wilmington, Delaware is named for his grandfather, a chemical engineer
who worked there. His great-great-grandfather was William Parish Chilton and his great-great-uncle was Thomas Chilton
, who both served in government.
After high school, Chilton worked at a steel mill
for a year. The experience convinced him that someone had to look out for "the little guy". He began attending Purdue University
in 1979, majoring in political science
and communications but left one semester before graduating to work on Democratic Party
1984 political campaign
s.
and George W. Bush
administrations, where he became the deputy chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
and served as a liaison to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From 2001 to 2005, he was a senior advisor to Senator Tom Daschle
. In 2005, he went to the Farm Credit Administration
, where he was an executive assistant to the board, afterward becoming chief of staff and vice president for governmental relations at the National Farmers Union
, representing family farmers.
Chilton has been one of the five CFTC commissioners since August 2007, when he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate after having been nominated by President Bush. He was the Chairman of the CFTC’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee. He was re-nominated by President Barack Obama
and re-confirmed by the Senate in 2009. In his first official remarks as a new commissioner on the CFTC, Chilton made clear his support for market regulation and has, since joining the CFTC, worked for the implementation of position limits.
In early 2010, he was contacted by Andrew Maguire
, who detailed fraud taking place in the precious metal
s markets. Chilton had one of the senior investigators from the CFTC's enforcement division contact Maguire. Maguire shared information in an hour-long telephone interview and detailed e-mails. Maguire accurately predicted a manipulative event in the silver futures market, notifying Chilton and the investigator two days in advance and sending additional e-mails while it was taking place, pointing out important data.
Chilton believes violations of law that have taken place in the silver futures market and has said he wants to see prosecutions. Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
board member Adrian Douglas has called Chilton "the modern-day equivalent of Eliot Ness
". In late 2010, he revealed that a single trader controlled 40 percent of the silver market, although in compliance with the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, the CFTC has proposed a position limit of ten percent.
On April 15, 2011, Chilton issued a statement against legislation to delay the financial regulatory reforms in the Dodd-Frank Act.
s. He is married to Sherry Daggett Chilton and lives in Washington, D.C.
and Arkansas
.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates futures and option markets....
(CFTC). Chilton has been a vocal supporter of position limits in commodities markets. He has exposed manipulation practices in commodities markets and gone on record as wanting to prosecute violations of law, which he believes have taken place in the silver market.
Early years
Chilton was born in Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
and grew up in Ogden Dunes, Indiana
Ogden Dunes, Indiana
Ogden Dunes is a town in Portage Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,110 at the 2000 census. It is named for Francis A. Ogden, who owned the land there before his death in 1914.-History:...
. Both his father and grandfather were engineers. His father, a mechanical engineer, patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed a way to create a self-standing artificial Christmas tree. DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
's Thomas H. Chilton
Thomas H. Chilton
Thomas H. Chilton was a chemical engineer and professor. He is considered a founder of modern chemical engineering practice and lectured widely around the world. He received numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate and the President's Certificate of Merit...
Laboratory in Wilmington, Delaware is named for his grandfather, a chemical engineer
Chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
who worked there. His great-great-grandfather was William Parish Chilton and his great-great-uncle was Thomas Chilton
Thomas Chilton
Thomas Chilton was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, a prominent Baptist clergyman, and the ghost writer of David Crockett's autobiography....
, who both served in government.
After high school, Chilton worked at a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
for a year. The experience convinced him that someone had to look out for "the little guy". He began attending Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
in 1979, majoring in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and communications but left one semester before graduating to work on Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
1984 political campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
s.
Career
Chilton worked in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1995, where he was legislative director for three different members of Congress and was the executive director of the Congressional Rural Caucus. He later worked in the executive branch during the Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administrations, where he became the deputy chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
Dan Glickman
Daniel Robert "Dan" Glickman is an American businessman and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1995 until 2001, prior to which he represented the Fourth Congressional District of Kansas as a Democrat in Congress for 18 years. He was Chairman and CEO of the...
and served as a liaison to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From 2001 to 2005, he was a senior advisor to Senator Tom Daschle
Tom Daschle
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
. In 2005, he went to the Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit Administration
The Farm Credit Administration is an independent agency of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. It regulates and examines the banks, associations, and related entities of the Farm Credit System, a network of borrower-owned financial institutions that provide credit to farmers,...
, where he was an executive assistant to the board, afterward becoming chief of staff and vice president for governmental relations at the National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union may refer to:*National Farmers Union *National Farmers Union *National Farmers Union *National Farmers Union of Scotland*National Farmers Union -See also:...
, representing family farmers.
Chilton has been one of the five CFTC commissioners since August 2007, when he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate after having been nominated by President Bush. He was the Chairman of the CFTC’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee. He was re-nominated by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and re-confirmed by the Senate in 2009. In his first official remarks as a new commissioner on the CFTC, Chilton made clear his support for market regulation and has, since joining the CFTC, worked for the implementation of position limits.
In early 2010, he was contacted by Andrew Maguire
Andrew Maguire (whistleblower)
Andrew Maguire is an independent bullion trader and a whistleblower. He notified United States regulators that fraud had been committed, manipulating prices in the international gold and silver markets...
, who detailed fraud taking place in the precious metal
Precious metal
A precious metal is a rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element of high economic value.Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive than most elements, have high lustre, are softer or more ductile, and have higher melting points than other metals...
s markets. Chilton had one of the senior investigators from the CFTC's enforcement division contact Maguire. Maguire shared information in an hour-long telephone interview and detailed e-mails. Maguire accurately predicted a manipulative event in the silver futures market, notifying Chilton and the investigator two days in advance and sending additional e-mails while it was taking place, pointing out important data.
Chilton believes violations of law that have taken place in the silver futures market and has said he wants to see prosecutions. Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee is an organization dedicated to investigating and proving its allegation that the quantity of gold held and traded by the world's central banks, international bullion banks and futures exchanges is significantly overstated and that a scheme analogous to the...
board member Adrian Douglas has called Chilton "the modern-day equivalent of Eliot Ness
Eliot Ness
Eliot Ness was an American Prohibition agent, famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago, Illinois, and the leader of a legendary team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables.- Early life :...
". In late 2010, he revealed that a single trader controlled 40 percent of the silver market, although in compliance with the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, the CFTC has proposed a position limit of ten percent.
On April 15, 2011, Chilton issued a statement against legislation to delay the financial regulatory reforms in the Dodd-Frank Act.
Personal
Chilton sports shoulder-length blond hair and likes to wear cowboy bootCowboy boot
Cowboy boots refer to a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a Cuban heel, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing...
s. He is married to Sherry Daggett Chilton and lives in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
.
External links
- Complete list of Chilton's speeches as CFTC commissioner Commodity Futures Trading Commission, official website. Retrieved May 9, 2011