Years of exorbitant political spending in Illinois – more than $24.3 million since 2010 – has secured an enormous amount of political influence for the Chicago Teachers Union. It is now the main political player not just in Chicago, but across the state.

The Chicago Teachers Union has poured at least $400,000 into Mayor Brandon Johnson’s tax hike proposal. If it passes, the union wants to use the taxes generated to fund housing for its own members.

Nearly 83% of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s funding has been from unions, according to data obtained from Illinois Sunshine. More than half of that came from teachers unions. Here are three ways we could see him pay them back.

Teachers unions have already bankrolled most of Brandon Johnson’s campaign for Chicago mayor, and the American Federation of Teachers just directed another $500,000 to his war chest.

To date, the Chicago Teachers Union and its affiliates have funneled nearly $5 million to the mayoral campaign of Brandon Johnson, ignoring member criticism and violating union rules.