The state of the union — that is, the Chicago Teachers Union — is “really strong,” “really powerful” and “very well,” according to President Stacy Davis Gates.
That confidence comes despite a bitter budget fight at Chicago Public Schools, federal education cuts and two recent government probes into the union’s financial records.
Davis Gates gave the sweeping address Tuesday night to a sea of supporters at union headquarters on the Near West Side, an event billed as the “CTU State of the Union.” Leaders of the nation’s third-largest teachers union say it is charging into the new year with full force.
“The state of the union is so powerful that they want to talk about how powerful we are in the halls of Congress,” Davis Gates told attendees.
Davis Gates has helmed CTU since July 2022, representing nearly 30,000 teachers, paraprofessionals and school personnel. She was reelected last May, securing another three-year term on the heels of the union’s recently ratified, $1.5 billion contract.
Davis Gates has emerged as a fierce advocate for public education in Illinois, though her unwavering approach has at times put her at odds with local and state officials. In October, she was elected president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the parent organization of CTU. IFT oversees more than 200 local union chapters.
“Imagine a school district where the conversation isn’t about empty seats and how many (schools) we close, but about, ‘How do we provide every kid in every school an extracurricular experience?’ Kids need to be on a sports team. Kids need to play an instrument. Kids need to sing and dance and act,” she said.
Under Davis Gates’ leadership, CTU propelled Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former union organizer and teacher, into office. At Tuesday’s event, Johnson drew on his educator roots and called teaching “one of the most important jobs that anyone can have.”
He, too, echoed calls to increase school funding.
“People ask you, ‘So what’s the deal with Mayor Brandon Johnson?’” he said. “Just let them know that we are centering our work around the needs of young people and working people.”
But the event comes at a turning point for CPS and CTU. As the district transitions to an elected school board — a change lauded by progressives as a step toward equity — it is also staring down an estimated $520 million budget deficit for next fiscal year.
In August, CPS closed a $734 million shortfall while avoiding direct cuts to classrooms. Yet the budget fight between district officials, Johnson and the CTU led to the mass resignation of the school board and the firing without cause of former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez in 2024.
Even in her new role at IFT, Davis Gates will face hurdles in securing more funding from state lawmakers. The General Assembly has shown reluctance to increase school funding beyond the levels already mandated by state law — making her push an uphill battle.
Polling has also shown that CTU’s popularity across the city has declined. During last year’s school board elections, voters rejected several union-backed candidates.
But Davis Gates shows no sign of backing down. “You got to make a choice in remembering your power, because all of your enemies do,” she said. “They’re talking about us because we’re powerful.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has rattled the country’s education landscape, moving to dismantle the U.S. Education Department while targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Trump officials abruptly pulled an $8 million federal grant from CPS after the district refused to end its Black Student Success Plan — designed to improve the outcomes and experiences of Black students, who were trailing their white peers — along with its policies supporting transgender students.
Federal pressures
CTU has faced its own set of federal pressures.
In November, the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce launched an investigation into the union’s financial audits, alleging that CTU has not provided required records to its members.
The union submitted the requested documents Jan. 16, the extended deadline it was given, the House committee’s spokesperson told the Tribune.
Five of Illinois’ Democratic members of the U.S. House wrote a letter to the committee a day before the deadline, questioning whether the investigation was politically motivated.
“We are concerned that the inquiry itself is overtly partisan in nature,” they wrote.
The Committee has yet to confirm if the documents it received fully comply with the request. But nearly two months later, CTU said it is being audited again — this time by the U.S. Department of Labor.
CTU spokesperson Kurt Hilgendorf said the union received a letter from the department Jan. 15 requesting to inspect its records as part of its Compliance Audit Program, commonly known as CAP.
Through CAP, officials can review a broad set of records, including bank statements, audit reports and meeting minutes. These audits are routinely conducted by the Department of Labor to ensure that labor unions are complying with federal labor laws.
While CTU acknowledged the audits are common, union leaders said the timing of the inquiry is questionable, given that the letter was sent a day before they turned in financial audits and other records to the Republican-led congressional committee.
“We think that the timing is suspicious,” Hilgendorf said. “But we were anticipating it could happen and we’re prepared.”
A Department of Labor spokesperson said the agency “cannot comment on purported investigative activity.”
CTU’s financial audits have been a topic of discussion for years, with some members stating that they do not have access to the documents.
But CTU has maintained that financial records are available to all union members in various ways, including by appointment and through the union’s official membership platform. Hilgendorf said that since Davis Gates took over, some of her top priorities have been financial stability and transparency.
At the moment, the Department of Labor has not shared further information regarding the timeline or process of its audit, according to Hilgendorf.
