The elections of the Chicago School for the year 2024 may have witnessed a turning point in the general perception of the political muscle of the Teachers Union in Chicago. Of $ 2.8 million CTU and its subsidiaries, 75 % went for the loss of candidates. It can affect the union elections.
Under the leadership of President Stacy Davis Gates and Vice President Jackson Potter, the Teachers Union in Chicago and its subsidiary companies became No. 1 delegate to the Chicago policy.
But there is increasing evidence that the union's spending has become a traction, not a batch, for the candidates in competitive races.
The first analysis of its kind for the political spending of the Federation is revealed in the elections of the Chicago School for the year 2024 by the Chicago Policy Center:
CTU spent more than $ 2.8 million on the school’s board candidates. From that, 2.1 million dollars – 75 % – went to the losing candidates. Reverend Robert Jones, the highest recipient of CTU Money in the school council elections, was Reverend Robert Jones, who nominated the seat of the tenth provincial council. The Jones campaign received more than $ 516,000 from CTU and its subsidiaries, but it ranked third out of four candidates. In the six races with large money, as CTU and its subsidiaries spent more than $ 200,000 on a specific candidate, they lost five. More than a quarter of the total political spending of CTU has flowed through entities that were not classified as the Union of Teachers in Chicago. These entities received money to spend on the school’s board elections via CTU.
These results indicate the classification of the preference for the union between voters in Chicago, which has been linked to the last public opinion to the link Only 29 %CTU's ability to influence the results in the ballot box can be stuck.
Moreover, CTU's lack of transparency on how to convert members ’dues into politics Be the campaign issue In the upcoming internal elections in the Federation, where Gates and Petr are facing opposition from the real gathering of the president's office and vice president.
How did CTU spent more than $ 2.8 million through 12 entities in the school’s board elections?
Unlike other reports on CTU's spending in the elections of the Schools Board of Directors in November 2024, this analysis not only includes the main political action committees of the Federation, CTU Local 1 and CTU PAC (IFT), but also 10 other groups have received most or all their financing to spend on school paintings directly from CTU. These groups, combined to spend more than $ 798,000, include:
United Working Families PAC: contributed $ 150,000 for the school’s board candidates. Peach 32ND PAC: $ 136,000. Our PAC Schools: $ 128,000. Grassroots Pac: $ 96,000. Cook County College Teachers Union: $ 88,000. One people PAC Campaign: $ 74,000. Fifty -working families United Pavilion: $ 44,000. Chicago, working families: $ 43,000. Our school procedures: $ 33,000. One people's campaign: $ 5500.
Through 12 political entities, the Union spent more than $ 2,871,600 on 10 candidates for the Chicago School Council. The CTU -backed medium candidate received money from six different entities from CTU.
The most CTU entities that funded one campaign in District 4 came when the Karen Zakor campaign committee has received funding from nine different entities backed by CTU. Zaccor lost its election but was later appointed to the school’s board of directors by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
How were CTU -backed candidates performed in the school council elections?
CTU supported candidates in nine races of competitive schools and one indisputable race. In the nine competitive races, its candidates lost six and won three. But the CTU record was worse when looking at races as they invested large resources. In six races as CTU and its subsidiaries spent more than $ 200,000 on a specific candidate, they lost five.
Ultimately, 75 cents of each union dollar and its affiliated companies went to the school’s board of directors to a losing candidate. A total of $ 2.1 million has been spent on the candidates who did not win their races.
Reverend Robert Jones, the highest recipient of CTU Money in the school council elections, was Reverend Robert Jones, who nominated the seat of the tenth provincial council. The Jones campaign received more than $ 516,000 from CTU and its subsidiaries, but it ranked third out of four candidates.
Political spending at the center of the CTU's internal policy
The President of the Teachers Union at Chicago Stacy Davis Gates and Vice President Jackson Potter faces opposition to the internal elections on May 16. Their opponents have highlighted Gates and Potters Lack of transparency On political spending, including the Union He refused to supply members with four years of audit operations. Many members have been forced to prosecute the Union to reach these records and are represented by the non -profit Liberty Justice Center.
Schools Board of Directors of 2024 may have been characterized by a turning point in the general perception of the political muscle of CTU.
Despite unprecedented financial strength and deep institutional resources, CTU -backed candidates failed by an overwhelming majority in the polling box. The Federation spent $ 2.1 million on losing campaigns, and may indicate more than just tactical imbalance. It may reflect an increasing violent reaction to an increasingly polarized political agenda.
With an imminent and membership internal elections that grow due to transparency and spending, the CTU leadership faces an account not only with its base, but with a city you may not buy what you sell anymore.
