The Chicago Teachers Union president demands the “wealthy” pay their fair share but doesn’t apply that same principle to herself.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates gave herself a raise in 2025, bringing her total compensation to over $273,000.
But she consistently fails to pay the city for her own water, sewer and trash services.
While demanding the “wealthy” pay their fair share, perhaps Davis Gates should practice what she preaches.
Davis Gates makes over $273,000 from CTU and Illinois Federation of Teachers
CTU recently filed its annual report with the U.S. Department of Labor, revealing 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, with 60% of voters disliking the union.
But her compensation doesn’t stop there. She also takes money for other roles, such as executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. There she earned an additional $78,150 as reported in that union’s 2024 federal report.
Combined, she’s making at least $273,105.
For comparison, that’s four times the median salary in Chicago of $65,250. In the meantime, Davis Gates routinely fails the people of Chicago by neglecting to pay her utility bills.
Davis Gates consistently fails to pay her “fair share” by neglecting to pay her utilities
As of July 2025, Davis Gates had once again fallen behind on paying the city for her water, sewer and trash services, racking up an unpaid bill of $1,006.95, according to information obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Illinois Policy Institute.
It isn’t the first time the CTU president has failed to pay her bills to the people of Chicago.
Davis Gates’ past-due bills piled up and hit nearly $5,700 at one point. When the institute followed up via a Freedom of Information Act request in 2024, the city invoked repeated delays in providing the information. Davis Gates paid up just before the information was released to the institute.
In many other cities, Davis Gates’ services would have been turned off long before hitting that point. But in July 2022, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting water shut-off for nonpayment. It followed a 2019 moratorium on residential shut-offs implemented by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot to “protect Chicago residents’ fundamental right to water access.”
Despite being part of Chicago’s “wealthy,” it appears Davis Gates is using an ordinance intended to benefit lower-income residents to avoid paying her own “fair share” to the people of Chicago.
