Johnson’s ‘Bring Chicago Home’ tax hike could fund Chicago Teachers Union’s contract demands

The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s real estate tax hike with cash and by taking students out of school to vote. The heavy push is understandable when CTU mentions the tax hike as a revenue source for their contract demands.

The Chicago Teachers Union so far has put $400,000 behind Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s real estate tax hike and subjected itself to an ethics complaint for plans to lobby students and pull them from class to vote.

CTU’s heavy investment is looking for a payoff, which it lists in its new contract demands.

CTU has said it would use funds from taxpayers to house teachers. The union is so committed to getting money from the tax increase that they’ve partnered with advocacy groups to lobby students during school hours before taking them to an early voting site – the subject of a school ethics complaint.

CTU’s past demands put the average teacher at $93,182 for the 2023 -2024 school year. That is $43,000 more than in 2012, when the union’s leadership changed to the strike-prone Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators. It is also nearly triple the private-sector salary growth.

Here are some other numbers to consider when deciding whether “Bring Chicago Home” tax funds should be used as CTU demands:

• The base salary at CPS tops more than 92.3% of Illinois districts.

• Student enrollment has dropped significantly in CPS, with the district serving 323,251 in 2023, down from 372,214 in 2018 and 395,079 in 2014.

• Chicago Public Schools spends $18,287 per student, 2% higher than the state average of $17,952.

• Since 2012, CPS spending has increased by 97%, but student proficiency in reading has declined by 63% and by 78% in math for grades 3-8.

• Pension costs and debt take up over $1 billion In CPS’s budget plus $869 million for debt service last year.

• The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund was only 46.8%  funded as of June 2023.

CTU is on the hunt for more money, demanding base salary increases at or above inflation plus more frequent raises for experience and education. If “Bring Chicago Home” passes with no guarantees the money will be used to help homeless Chicagoans, expect CTU to push their former employee, Mayor Johnson, to use the new taxes to fund their many demands.

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