Chicago Teachers Union’s actions affect all Illinoisans

The Chicago Teachers Union might be in one city, but its lobbying and other political wrangling affect residents statewide.

The Chicago Teachers Union is making expensive demands for its upcoming teachers contract that Chicago Public Schools can’t afford.

That’s “an emergency for entire state of Illinois,” according to CTU president Stacy Davis Gates. “We need full funding,” she said.

What exactly does Davis Gates think is “emergency” status for all of Illinois?

CTU’s more than $10 billion in demands include 9% wage increases for Chicago teachers, a housing program for Chicago teachers, a 100% electric bus fleet and solar panels for Chicago school buildings – to name a few. CPS has projected just 52 of CTU’s demands would create a $2.9 billion deficit for the district next fiscal year and a $4 billion hole by 2029.

Illinoisans outside Chicago may not think that’s their problem to solve.

Unfortunately, CTU isn’t just the political machine in Chicago, it’s the political machine in the state. And what CTU does affects all residents, from Rockford to Cairo.

Here are three reasons why all Illinoisans should be watching what CTU does.

1. CTU wants $1.1 billion more from the state

CPS has an abysmal track record when it comes to high spending and poor results. Since 2012, district spending has nearly doubled, yet proficiency has dropped. Just one in four students reading at grade level. Even fewer are doing math at grade level.

CPS expects nearly $2.1 billion from the state for the 2025 fiscal year, but CTU wants even more. That would come at a cost to all Illinoisans.

In May 2024, CTU took hundreds of teachers to Springfield to demand an additional $1.1 billion in state funding. CPS already spends over $6,000 more per student on average than other districts in Illinois, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

But CTU wants more to fund its expensive demands, and it expects Illinoisans to foot the bill. At the time, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker had harsh words for the union.

“I don’t think that that’s the job of Springfield, to rescue the school districts that might have been irresponsible with the one-time [pandemic] money they received,” Pritzker told a Springfield blogger.

Since then, the district has been riddled with political controversies, with some observers suggesting CTU and Johnson are purposely creating a situation that would force a state bailout.

Johnson wanted the district to take out a high-interest loan to bankroll the CTU contract and a pension payment, but both CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and the school board rejected that plan. Johnson retaliated by demanding Martinez resign. Martinez refused, and subsequently the entire school board resigned, leading 41 Chicago aldermen to write a letter stating the board resignations would bring “further instability” to the district. Johnson then appointed seven new members.

Johnson’s desire to remove Martinez is aimed at pressuring Springfield into “fully funding” CPS, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. But it’s a risky game.

“If the end game of Johnson and the CTU is to crash the system financially and force Pritzker to bail ‘em out, people better be careful what they wish for. It’s a huge risk,” former CPS Board of Education President Gery Chico has said. “CPS and its advocates already went to Springfield a few times and asked for help, and they got rebuffed. I don’t see J.B. Pritzker rolling over.”

Cook County Board Commissioner Michael Scott, Jr., agreed. “You further alienate yourself from the governor by putting the governor in a pickle to have to come up with this money. And you ultimately run the risk of the governor playing chicken with you and losing that battle of chicken, and the district ultimately goes bankrupt.”

On the other hand, if Springfield agrees to a CPS bailout, it will come on the backs of all Illinoisans, regardless of their zip code.

2. CTU has funded nearly half of lawmakers, from Rockford to Belleville

CTU has spent more than $24.3 million on politics since 2010, when a radical slate of union leaders took over and ushered in years of political wrangling. Not all of that money was focused on Chicago politics.

In fact, nearly half of current lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly have received money from CTU, according to records with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Those contributions include:

• $620,071 to current Illinois state senators.
• $662,200 to current Illinois state representatives.
• Donations to 84 out of 117 Democrats, or 72%.
• No donations to the 59 Republicans.

Notably, CTU has donated to 40 current Illinois lawmakers whose districts are outside the city and school district, showing its interests go well beyond the school district’s boundaries.

CTU’s influence over statewide politicians doesn’t end there. The union has also contributed more than $500,000 to other Democratic election committees in Illinois. Those committees then direct money to additional candidates and causes.

But contributing money to politicians is just one part of the puzzle. The other part is seeing results. And CTU has laid the groundwork to get what it wants – a political quid pro quo that emboldens and empowers the union.

3. CTU gets what it wants on 60% of bills it lobbies over in Springfield

CTU’s spending creates a quid pro quo between the union and politicians in Illinois. 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.

The union officially registered its position on 59 bills during the recent 103rd General Assembly. Of those, it supported 54 bills and opposed five bills.

Here’s the kicker: lawmakers passed 32 of the 54 bills CTU supported. That’s a nearly 60% passage rate.

None of the bills it opposed passed.

Taken together, the Illinois General Assembly did what CTU told them to do on more than 6 out of every 10 bills. From charter schools to minimum wage at restaurants, CTU had an opinion.

Bills CTU supported:

• House Bill 2392, which passed, allows teachers to take 10 paid days each school term to do “federal advocacy work,” i.e., politics, for unions’ state affiliates
• House Bill 4895, which passed, requires instruction in all public schools on climate change
• House Bill 5345 mandates minimum wage for tipped workers
• Senate Bill 3649, which passed, effectively prohibits religious and policy-oriented 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations from requiring their employees to attend meetings about religious or political matters – even if those matters are at the crux of the entity’s existence.

The union also prevented passage of bills that could have benefitted children and families all over the state. For example, it opposed House Bill 1246, which would have ensured parents in school districts of 300 or more students could see a list of the curriculum used in the district in the previous school year.

Notably, most of these bills applied throughout Illinois and not just in the Chicago area. That means CTU’s political reach affects students and parents – and, in the case of House Bill 5345 and Senate Bill 3649, businesses – outside its own district.

CTU isn’t just Chicago’s problem. From the union’s political spending to its lobbying, its actions affect all people in Illinois – not just those in Chicago.