Chicago Teachers Union boss finally pays city bills, because of FOIA?

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates finally paid all her city trash, sewer and water bills after letting $5,381 in debt pile up. The pay-off came after an open records request was made. Hmmm…

The city bills piled up for more than three years on Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ home in Chicago, at one time hitting just over $5,700.

Payments were sporadic in 2023, then became monthly in November 2023 when the Illinois Policy Institute filed a Freedom of Information Act request and wrote about her past due bills and default on a payment plan agreement.

Well, a new FOIA request was filed April 3 with the Chicago Department of Finance. The department immediately asked for an extension of five working days. Then on April 17 it asked for a second five-day extension because “there is a need for consultation” with other city entities.

On April 24 the FOIA response on Davis Gates’ city utility bills arrived. She had days earlier paid them all off: $5,381 paid on April 15.

What a coincidence.

It must feel good to pay your fair share and have a zero balance for the first time in about four years. She is no longer letting other city residents cover her debt. She no longer faces collection efforts from city workers answerable to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, her former co-worker at the CTU and his chief backer as CTU bankrolled his mayoral campaign.

Davis Gates has excoriated “wealthy” taxpayers about paying their “fair share.” She makes over $289,000 for her various union duties.

Besides the overdue Chicago utility bills, Davis Gates owed South Bend, Indiana, $1,533 in taxes and penalties for taking a property tax exemption reserved for owners who live in the house. Most of those taxes go to support local schools. She missed the payment deadline in December, and the current status of that debt was not immediately available.

Davis Gates is starting contract negotiations with Johnson across the table this summer. When asked about the potential cost of the new contract, she said to stop asking questions about CTU demands, even if they cost “$50 billion … and three cents.”

With that grasp of finances and her buddy in negotiations, what do Chicago taxpayers have to worry about?