9% of Illinois government workers quit unions as more dues spent on politics

By Mailee Smith

08/31/2022

Illinois government unions admit spending very little on representing workers – the core purpose of a union. Maybe that’s why so many government workers are leaving the unions. Now government union bosses want taxpayers to pay for union failures.

TAGS: government unions

Just 19% of CTU’s spending in 2021 was to represent teachers

By Mailee Smith

08/18/2022

Only $134 of each Chicago Teachers Union member’s dues is actually spent on representing Chicago Public Schools teachers. The rest is spent on other CTU leadership priorities and on the union hierarchy.

TAGS: CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

Pritzker administration failed to report unemployment fraud data

By Dylan Sharkey

08/16/2022

A U.S. Department of Labor report stated Illinois failed to report theft of pandemic relief money as required. Illinois lost over half of pandemic unemployment funds to fraud.

TAGS: fraud, IDES: Illinois Department of Employment Security, JB Pritzker

Majority of IFT spending goes to Chicago

By Mailee Smith

08/10/2022

The Illinois Federation of Teachers in 2021 spent 190 times more on Chicago-area teachers than it did on teachers south of Interstate 80. That could be why IFT membership has shrunk nearly 18% since 2017.

NEA dues rise, spending on teachers drops for 6 straight years

By Mailee Smith

08/10/2022

Federal documents filed by the National Education Association show just 5% of its total spending was on representing members in 2021. NEA and its state affiliate – the Illinois Education Association – prioritized leadership salaries and politics over teachers.

How Chicago Teachers Union sold $50M high-rise, hid cash from oversight

By Patrick Andriesen

05/19/2022

Chicago Teachers Union leaders made nearly $50 million selling property paid for with union member dues, only to shuffle the proceeds to a charity with less oversight. Members are voting May 20 for transparency from new leaders.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, teachers union

Chicago Teachers Union election May 20 could affect frequency of strikes

By Mailee Smith

05/17/2022

CTU has walked out on students three times in three school years. The outcome of its upcoming leadership election pits the status quo against potential change – and could alter the political trajectory of the nation’s most militant teachers union.

TAGS: CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, election, strike

Over 23,000 Illinois public school employees leave unions

By Hannah Schmid

04/14/2022

Membership in teachers unions has decreased nearly 10% since 2017, when public educators gained the right to stop handing their pay to unions.

TAGS: Illinois, opt out, public schools, teachers union

More than 38,000 workers have left government unions in Illinois

By Mailee Smith

04/12/2022

The unions’ own federal reports show 9% of workers have chosen to break away from unions since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME.

TAGS: government unions, Janus v. AFSCME, membership

IDES report detailing scope of Illinois unemployment fraud remains unpublished one year later

By Patrick Andriesen

02/14/2022

Nearly a year after Illinois lawmakers requested a comprehensive audit of state unemployment fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, IDES, the state agency in charge of issuing assistance, remains unable to tabulate how much money was lost to scammers.

TAGS: fraud, IDES: Illinois Department of Employment Security

United States Department of Labor

9% of Illinois government workers quit unions as more dues spent on politics

Just 19% of CTU’s spending in 2021 was to represent teachers

Pritzker administration failed to report unemployment fraud data

Majority of IFT spending goes to Chicago

NEA dues rise, spending on teachers drops for 6 straight years

How Chicago Teachers Union sold $50M high-rise, hid cash from oversight

Chicago Teachers Union election May 20 could affect frequency of strikes

Over 23,000 Illinois public school employees leave unions

More than 38,000 workers have left government unions in Illinois

IDES report detailing scope of Illinois unemployment fraud remains unpublished one year later

4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students