Is Chicago Teachers Union about to grab more control of statewide union?
Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery won’t be seeking reelection, and three other executive board members have submitted resignations. Those vacancies give the Chicago Teachers Union an opening to gain more power over the statewide union.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers – parent union and chief ally of the Chicago Teachers Union – will soon be replacing its president and filling three vacancies on its executive board, giving the Chicago Teachers Union an opening.
CTU already exerts disproportionate control over IFT and local unions.
Current President Dan Montgomery announced June 30 he will not be seeking reelection. A successor will be elected at the IFT convention in October. Three other members of the executive board have recently submitted resignations. Nominees will be selected by the executive board on July 16, allowing Montgomery to extend his legacy through those nominees.
According to the IFT constitution, any member in good standing can be nominated through July 9. There is no limit on the number that can be from CTU.
The IFT Executive Board has 47 members, including 12 members of CTU. Only one of the resigning members – Nina Hike – is a teacher for Chicago Public Schools. But another – Charles Noud – is president of the Granite City Federation of Education Professionals, Local 743, and has worked directly with CTU Vice President Jackson Potter.
CTU already exerts disproportionate influence over IFT
CTU already has more than its share of influence in IFT. While IFT represents more than 200 Illinois school districts, it spends 60% of its affiliate funds on CTU even though less than one-third of IFT’s members are in Chicago. Also, IFT, CTU and AFT funneled $6.5 million to Chicago mayoral, city council, city clerk and city treasurer candidates between Feb. 28, 2022, and May 4, 2023.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, whose tenure at CTU has been rocked by scandals, is the executive vice president of IFT. With Noud resigning from union leadership, who is most likely to succeed Montgomery as president?
CTU exerts influence outside of Chicago as IFT bridges urban and rural divides
CTU has set sights on the rest of Illinois. The union has been expanding its influence under the pretense of “bridging urban and rural divides.” In 2024, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter said he had visited Granite City High School, where IFT Vice President Noud is the president of the Granite City Federation of Educational Professionals. While there, Potter taught civics lesson to high schoolers.
Following the trip to Granite City, Potter said, “I see that our urban and rural locals face many of the same challenges – and so we should be working together.”
Potter likely sees “working together” as an opportunity to expand CTU’s radical agenda beyond Chicago. By addressing the work CTU has done in Chicago and addressing the needs of Granite City, Potter suggested “that the health of democracy and the planet itself may depend on our ability to bridge the urban-rural divides within our states… for the sake of winning green, sustainable community schools and infrastructure.”
Potter and Noud working together is one example of CTU using IFT to advance its radical agenda through militant union bargaining rather than through the democratic process. With 52 IFT local districts approaching contract negotiations, there is a risk CTU’s radical style of contract negotiations will spread to more districts.
As the IFT presidency and three executive board positions open, CTU has new opportunities to increase its influence over IFT. By obtaining more CTU-aligned board members, CTU will continue to advance its radical agenda throughout the state.
IFT needs to focus on representing teachers on core issues of wages and benefits and avoid radical CTU tangents on social and climate justice. Elected leaders should decide those policy issues, not union bosses making strike threats.