The Chicago Teachers Union spent millions on failed school board candidates in its 2025 fiscal year. Not even 18% of its spending was on representing teachers.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s latest federal filing proves its quest to become the controlling political party in Chicago has come with a cost to teachers.
CTU just filed its annual report with the U.S. Department of Labor detailing its receipts and disbursements from the 2025 fiscal year that ended June 30. It shows:
- CTU doubled its political spending in 2025, reaching a new high.
- Less than 18% of CTU’s spending was on representing teachers – what should be its core focus.
- Union president Stacy Davis Gates gave herself a raise, bringing her total compensation to more than $273,000.
- Questionable spending included over $173,000 to a “recording studio” in New Mexico.
With CTU members spending nearly $1,500 a year in union dues, it’s clear they get very little in return for their investment.
CTU doubled its political spending in 2025
CTU spent over $4.2 million on “political activities and lobbying” in its 2025 fiscal year, according to its recent report. That’s a record high since it started filing federal reports and double its 2024 spending.
Most of that money went to the union’s own political action committees. It funneled $2.5 million to CTU-PAC and an additional $800,000 to PAC Local 1. At least $2.4 million was specifically earmarked for CPS school board races. It also funneled at least $80,000 to Our Schools Action, which is “a coalition of community groups of which the CTU is a member, and People United for Action, which works to elect progressive candidates for public office,” according to Chalkbeat.
Yet CTU didn’t get much bang for its buck in those races. Its endorsed school board candidates won only three of nine contested races. It isn’t the first time the union lost big money on politicking. The union spent $400,000 in 2024 on the “Bring Chicago Home” tax hike ballot initiative, which voters also rejected.
CTU may want to take a step back from its relentless political activities. According to a 2025 poll, 60% of Chicago voters have an unfavorable view of the union. That is a big change from 2023, when the union bankrolled their lobbyist and got voters to put him in the Chicago mayor’s office. Now, more than 57% are less likely to vote for a candidate if they accept campaign contributions from CTU.
Between extreme public disfavor and repeatedly failing campaigns, CTU is practically throwing away members’ money on politics.
Less than 18% of CTU’s spending was on representing teachers
CTU admits just 17.7% of its spending in 2025 was on “representational activities.” The rest was spent on politics, overhead and other union leadership priorities.
Specifically, CTU reported spending a total of $41,387,781 in 2025. Of that, just $7,326,231 was on “representational activities,” which the U.S. Department of Labor defines as those activities “associated with preparation for, and participation in, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and the administration and enforcement of the agreements.”
To put this in perspective, the Better Business Bureau’s “Standards for Charitable Accountability” maintain at least 65% of a nonprofit’s total expenses should be on program activities.
While the Better Business Bureau tracks spending by traditional charities, CTU’s spending on representing teachers – what should be its core focus – falls far short of this mark.
Stacy Davis Gates gave herself a raise
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates earned $194,955 in her role as CTU president in 2025 – a 4% increase from the $187,530 she was paid the year before.
It’s unclear why Davis Gates thought she deserved a raise. After boasting she was making “$50 billion” in demands in negotiations for a new CTU contract with Chicago Public Schools, she didn’t get the “transformative contract” she promised. Instead, CTU’s shenanigans bred contempt for the union across the city.
But her compensation doesn’t stop there. She also takes compensation for other roles, such as executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. She earned an additional $78,150 in 2024 as reported in that union’s federal report. From CTU and IFT alone, she’s making over $273,000.
Davis Gates isn’t the only CTU employee making six-figures. In total, more than 50 CTU officers and employees made $100,000 or more in the 2025 fiscal year.
In comparison: the average teacher salary in Illinois is $75,978. Davis Gates’ IFT salary alone is more than that.
CTU’s other questionable spending included over $173,000 to a recording studio in New Mexico
CTU’s questionable spending wasn’t limited to its millions on failed political projects. The union also spent $173,075 on a “recording studio” with a pool in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It spent $123,803 for catering and food delivery, including $61,689 for unspecified purposes. And it spent nearly $80,000 for audit accountants yet has failed to produce its required “annual” audit to members for more than five years.
Chicago educators who want more control over their 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 to the union yet retains all benefits that are provided in the collective bargaining agreement with the school district.
CTU only provides an annual window of time in which members can opt out and cease paying dues. That window is in August of each year, but 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.
