Four Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members sued the union for a long overdue financial audit.
They want audits for:
The members tried to fight for an audit before filing a lawsuit.
On October 1, Dean McGee, a lawyer for the Liberty Justice Center (LJC) who is working pro bono for the members, wrote to CTU President Stacey Gates and Fiscal Secretary Maria Moreno:
Annual audited reports are vital for transparency and accountability to the nearly 30,000 Chicago educators whose membership dues fund the CTU. Under Article VI, § 1.d of the CTU Constitution, the Financial Secretary must “furnish an audited report of the Union, which shall be printed in the Union’s publication.” Similarly, Article VI, § 2.a requires the Board of Trustees to “procure an annual audit of the Union’s finances for the fiscal year ending June 30 and make it available to members.” It appears that the last published audit covered FY2018 through the second quarter of FY2019.
The CTU demanded the plaintiffs’ names, claiming it needed to authenticate their membership.
The plaintiffs and LJC accused the union of using the information to call out the members. During a member-wide call, Gates suggested that “their request for transparency was linked to a ‘right-wing’ effort dubbed ‘Project 2025.'”
“CTU members deserve to know where their money is going. After four years of silence, it’s time for transparency,” stated CTU member Phillip Weiss. “This lawsuit isn’t just about us—it’s about the more than 25,000 educators across Chicago who rely on the union to uphold its commitments.”
LJC filed the Weiss v Chicago Teachers Union case with the Circuit Court of Cook County on October 8.
The four plaintiffs claim the CTU breached their contracts. They’ve asked the courts to:
A. Enter declaratory judgment in Plaintiffs’ favor finding that Defendants failed to meet their contractual obligation to furnish a financial audit of the Union;B. Direct Defendants to specifically perform their contractual obligation to furnish audited financial reports of the Union in the Union’s publication.C. Award Plaintiffs their costs of this suit; andD. Grant such further relief this Court deems just, proper, and equitable.
The members have legitimate concerns over the union’s finances:
CTU’s financial house is teetering. Under the leadership of Davis Gates, the union ran its first reported deficit, spending nearly $500,000 more than it took in. It spent just 17 cents of each dollar representing members, a decrease from each of the previous years reported, and it spent three times more on politics than it did in any previous year reported. When the union bankrolled Brandon Johnson’s mayoral campaign without consulting its members, members started speaking out. An unfair labor practice complaint was filed by members against their own union.The union then raised its dues by $160 for 2024, most likely to compensate for its financial missteps.Davis Gates’ tenure as CTU president has been tainted by financial mismanagement and sketchy personal dealings.
This is only just the latest headache for the CTU and Johnson.
Last week, Chicago Board of Education members announced their intent to resign amid conflict with Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Johnson wants a board that will oust Chicago Public School CEO Pedro Martinez because he won’t bend the knee to the mayor and Chicago Teachers Union.
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