CHICAGO (May 16, 2025) – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union vote today for their union leadership, and the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators slate faces challengers.

Under the leadership of President Stacy Davis Gates and Vice President Jackson Potter, the Chicago Teachers Union and its affiliates have become the No. 1 spender on Chicago politics, according to research from the Illinois Policy Institute and Chicago Policy Center.

In 2024, union leaders spent more than $2.8 million on school board candidates. Of that, $2.1 million – 75% – went to losing candidates, the center found. This marked a significant shift from the national average, where union-endorsed school board candidates typically win 70% of competitive races.

Both teachers and families are getting less from the union since CORE took over in 2010. Student proficiency in reading and math have plummeted, enrollment has declined and the union has become overtly political and militant.

Illinois Policy Institute experts are available in Chicago and statewide to comment on the CTU election.

EXPERTS AVAILABLE:
Mailee Smith, senior director of labor policy and staff attorney
Austin Berg, executive director of the Chicago Policy Center

Where’s CTU spending its money?

• CTU and affiliates were the leading donors for Johnson, spending 3.2 million. Johnson’s approval rating is currently 6%. CTU showed approval ratings of 29% in January 2025.
• The top recipient of CTU money in the school board elections was the Rev. Robert Jones, who ran for the 10th District board seat and received more than $516,000 from the CTU and its affiliates. He came in third place out of four candidates.
• In the six races in which the CTU and its affiliates spent more than $200,000 on a given candidate, five lost.
• More than one-quarter of the CTU’s total political spending flowed through entities not labeled as the Chicago Teachers Union. Those entities received money from the CTU to spend on school board elections.

To read more about the Chicago Teachers Union election, visit illin.is/CTU-board.

For interviews or interviews, contact media@illinoispolicy.org or (312) 607-4977.