Chicago Teachers Union president misses deadline to pay back taxes, penalty
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates missed the deadline to pay $1,533 in back taxes and penalties on her Indiana house. She was fined for taking a homeowner’s property tax break on a South Bend house she didn’t live in.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates got an undeserved property tax break on a house in South Bend, Indiana, and now she’s failed to meet the deadline for paying $1,533 in penalties and back taxes.
The union boss who earns at least $289,000 and admonishes the “wealthy” to pay their “fair share” is now in arrears to two local governments. Davis Gates failed to pay her Chicago water, sewer and trash bills for at least three years, racking up $5,579 in fees by November after defaulting on a payment plan in September.
Indiana revoked Davis Gates’ homestead exemption after it was revealed in early November by the Illinois Policy Institute. She was billed for the tax break plus a 10% penalty for a total of $1,533 that was due Dec. 8.
The St. Joseph County assessor’s office confirmed in an email they had not received a payment by the deadline. The amount owed will be rolled into Davis Gates’ property tax bill for next spring, pending approval from the state.
Davis Gates has not lived in Indiana since she bought the home in 2006, but state law only allows three years of back tax collections. Homestead exemptions are significant property tax deductions reserved for homes which are the owner’s primary residence.
South Bend’s public schools would be the main losers when property taxes are not paid in full.
Davis Gates’ home in Chicago still has water and other city services despite defaulting on a payment plan, because Chicago prohibits water shut-off for non-payment to “protect Chicago residents’ fundamental right to water access.” The move was intended to protect low-income residents but is benefitting Davis Gates as well.
CTU members’ have had concerns this year about Davis Gates and other union leaders’ failure to properly handle union funds – running a deficit, tripling political spending and increasing dues $160 while only spending 17 cents of every dollar on representing members. When a member questioned why the union has failed to provide its audits to members for at least four years, Davis Gates attacked the member and claimed asking for an audit mandated by CTU rules was a racist “dog whistle.”
Davis Gates also worked hard this year to make sure Illinois was the only state to roll back its school choice program, leaving nearly 10,000 low-income students’ futures at risk while sending her own son to a private school.