Chicago Teachers Union releases ‘annual’ audits 5 years late
Chicago Teachers Union leaders fought members, a Congressional inquiry and a potential U.S. Department of Labor investigation over audits. Now we know why.
In a win for transparency and union member rights, the Chicago Teachers Union finally released “annual” audits to members after a five-year lapse in providing the required records.
But CTU’s leaders didn’t do so willingly. It took the mounting pressure of a lawsuit filed by members, an inquiry by a U.S. Congressional committee and a potential investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor to get union leaders to follow their own internal rules.
Why would CTU leaders fight so hard to keep members in the dark?
Maybe because at least two of the union’s combined financial statements were seriously flawed, according to The Last Ward, which obtained exclusive copies. An independent auditor issued adverse opinions about the statements, which means the auditor concluded the union’s finances were misstated in a material and pervasive way.
Specifically, two combined financial statements include the union and its two political action committees. The union “elected to omit” activities of the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation and the Children and Teachers Foundation of the Chicago Teachers Union. As a result, the auditor found the combined financial statements “do not represent fairly the financial position of the Chicago Teachers Union.”
CTU’s leaders had been fighting to keep the audits secret for years, despite internal union bylaws requiring the audits’ release.
The last time an audit had been released was Sept. 9, 2020, and it covered through June 30, 2019. When a CTU member raised questions about missing audits, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates personally attacked the member, labeling the call for the release of the required audits a racist “dog whistle.”
In the meantime, the union’s failure to prioritize members has been demonstrated in the records it files annually with the U.S. Department of Labor. Its 2025 filing revealed:
- Less than 18% of CTU’s spending was on representing teachers – what should be its core focus.
- CTU doubled its political spending in 2025, reaching a new high.
- Davis Gates gave herself a raise, bringing her total compensation to more than $273,000.
- Questionable spending included over $173,000 to a poolside “recording studio” in New Mexico.
CTU members had reason to be concerned about the union’s finances. Finally, obtaining the union’s past-due audits proves those worries were warranted, and that union leaders had something to hide.