Illinois Federation of Teachers educators aren’t getting what they’re paying for

The majority of IFT’s spending is not on representing teachers, according to its own reports. Teachers can opt out of the union during August.

Teachers can spend hundreds of dollars — or more — a year in union dues. Most of that passes up the chain to the state and national union affiliates.

But are those teachers getting what they’re paying for?

They aren’t, according to the affiliates’ own reporting.

And now that the Chicago Teachers Union is running the Illinois Federation of Teachers, educators outside Chicago can expect even less in return for their dues.

Less than 28% of IFT’s spending in 2025 was on representing teachers, according to the union’s annual report filed with the U.S. Labor Department.

The rest was on politics, overhead and other union leadership priorities.

The Chicago Teachers Union did even worse. It admitted that less than 18% of its spending in 2025 was on representing teachers.

The Labor Department defines “representational activities” as those “associated with preparation for, and participation in, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and the administration and enforcement of the agreements.”

In other words, what should be the core purpose of the union. But neither IFT nor CTU prioritize representing members.

IFT members outside of Chicago can expect that to get even worse now that Stacy Davis Gates is in control of both IFT and CTU. When she took over as IFT president in 2025, she did not step down from her position as president of CTU. The two entities became practically inseparable, with CTU’s agenda becoming IFT’s agenda.

IFT already spends a disproportionate amount of money on CTU over its other affiliates. Just one-third of IFT’s members are in Chicago Public Schools, yet CTU receives the majority of IFT’s affiliate funding. In 2025, more than 70% of local affiliate spending was on CTU, with less than 30% on the remaining locals.

It’s a bad track record: IFT spends little on representing teachers. CTU spends even less. And IFT already prioritizes CTU over its other affiliates.

Illinois educators who want more control over their paychecks have options:

1. Teachers can opt out of union membership and keep all employer-provided benefits. 

By opting out of union membership, a teacher stops paying dues to the union yet retains all benefits that are provided in the collective bargaining agreement with the school district. Employers cannot treat nonmembers differently than union members.

Teachers can get more information and all the paperwork they need by visiting LeaveIFT.com.

A teacher represented by the Illinois Education Association also can opt out in August. Visit LeaveIEA.com to learn more.

2. Teachers can get liability insurance and legal protection elsewhere. 

Teachers can get liability insurance and job protection coverage elsewhere, at little or no cost from groups such as the Association of American Educators or the Teacher Freedom Alliance. The alliance is donor-funded and free to teachers.

Do you know someone who may want to opt out of the union? Make sure they know they should do so in August, as most unions limit the time frame when teachers can opt out and stop paying dues.