See if your lawmaker has taken money from the Chicago Teachers Union

The Chicago Teachers Union has funneled nearly $1.6 to lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly. See if your lawmakers accepted CTU cash.

The Chicago Teachers Union is a powerful political machine, not just in Chicago but also in Springfield.

Now that the election is over, Illinois lawmakers are back at the Statehouse for the fall veto session. Use the table below to see updated totals of how much your current lawmakers have taken from CTU over the years.

Overall, CTU has funneled nearly $1.6 million into the campaigns of state lawmakers. That includes three of every four state senators and two of every three state representatives. All of these recipients are from the Democratic party. No republican lawmakers have received CTU money.

Political contributions buy political clout – and CTU isn’t going to let that go to waste. In the most recent legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly did CTU’s bidding on 60% of the bills on which CTU took a stance.

Clearly, CTU’s money is translating into corresponding action by lawmakers.

But lawmakers should be wary of taking CTU money and doing the union’s bidding. Recent polling showed 55% of Chicago voters were less likely to vote for politicians who accepted CTU cash. Taking CTU money may be tempting, but it could backfire with voters.