The Chicago Teachers Union shared its 2026 state primary election candidate endorsements on social media.
The Chicago Teachers Union has endorsed a long list of candidates for an position in Springfield in the run-up to the March 17 primary.
The union reported record-high political spending in its 2025 fiscal year, funneling over $4.2 million to “political activities and lobbying.”
Most of that went to the union’s own political action committees. CTU funneled $2.5 million to CTU-PAC and $800,000 to PAC Local 1. Of that money, at least $2.4 million was earmarked for Chicago Public Schools board races.
Yet CTU’s endorsed school board candidates won only three of nine contested races. That isn’t the first time the union lost big money on politicking.
According to a 2025 poll, 60% of Chicago voters have an unfavorable view of the union and 57% are less likely to vote for a candidate who takes campaign money from CTU.
Below is the list of CTU-endorsed candidates for Illinois state offices and the union’s contributions, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Chicago educators who don’t want their union dues going to candidates they may not support and want more control over those dues have options:
- Teachers can get liability insurance and legal protection elsewhere, often at a fraction of the price of union membership. Educators can join other associations, such as the Association of American Educators or the Teacher Freedom Alliance. The alliance is donor-funded and free to teachers.
- Teachers can opt out of union membership and keep all employer-provided benefits. By opting out of union membership, a teacher stops paying dues yet retains all benefits in the collective-bargaining agreement with the school district.
CTU only provides a window every August during which members can opt out and stop paying dues. Teachers interested in opting out can visit LeaveCTU.com for more information and to sign up for a reminder to opt out when August 2026 approaches.
