Chicago Teachers Union, aligned groups give nearly $1.5 million so far to Chicago school board candidates
As of Oct. 19, the CTU and aligned groups had spent nearly $1.5 million on 12 of its endorsed candidates.
The Chicago Teachers Union and aligned groups have spent almost $1.5 million on 12 candidates for the first fully elected Chicago school board, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Most of that has gone to the campaign of CTU’s former deputy political director, Hilario Dominguez, who is running for board president. Dominguez, also a former CPS special education teacher, had received $614,021 so far from the union as of Oct. 19.
Of the CTU’s 15 endorsed board candidates, 12 have received contributions from the union.
CTU’s donations include cash and in-kind contributions.
CTU gave $1,372 to candidate Brenda Lee Anderson but is endorsing Anusha Thotakura for that district, 6A.
The union assists candidates in other ways. For example, CTU donated $300,000 to Our Schools PAC on June 29. On Sept. 30, Our School PAC donated $300,000 to Dominguez’s campaign.
In fact, Dominguez is being bankrolled almost entirely by CTU and the CTU-aligned PAC.
In the 2024 school board election, the union funneled $2.8 million to candidates. While there’s still time for CTU to donate to its chosen candidates, its leadership got a wakeup call earlier this year when members resoundingly voted down a dues hike primarily intended to fund CTU’s political agenda.
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