Case

Weiss v. Chicago Teachers Union

The Liberty Justice Center is suing the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) on behalf of four CTU members, demanding that the union produce an audit after failing to do so for four years.

On October 8, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of four Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members, demanding that CTU produce an audit after failing to do so for four years.

Under CTU’s Constitution and Bylaws, Article VI, Section 1(d), the union is required to “furnish an audited report of the Union which shall be printed in the Union’s publication.” However, CTU has failed to meet this obligation since it published an audit only covering the first half of 2019.

“CTU members deserve to know where their money is going. After four years of silence, it’s time for transparency,” said plaintiff Phillip Weiss, who has been a CTU member since 1998. “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.”

The Liberty Justice Center previously sent a demand letter to the union on behalf of several anonymous CTU members, offering the opportunity to comply and avoid litigation. A week after receiving the letter, CTU’s lawyers requested the identity of the plaintiffs, purportedly to confirm their union membership.

Instead, the union used this information to launch into intimidation tactics to suppress dissent and distract from the core issue: its failure to provide financial transparency to members. On October 8, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates attempted to publicly shame the plaintiffs on a member-wide call by singling them out by name and invoking “Project 2025” to falsely frame their request for transparency as part of a “right-wing” effort.

After CTU failed to provide the missing audits by the letter’s deadline, the Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit to compel the audits’ release.

“We are proud to stand with Chicago educators in their fight for accountability and transparency,” said Dean McGee, Senior Counsel for Educational Freedom at Liberty Justice Center. “CTU leadership must uphold its obligations to the teachers it represents.”

Weiss v. Chicago Teachers Union was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County on October 8, 2024. The Liberty Justice Center is representing the members pro bono.

A copy of the Liberty Justice Center’s demand letter is available here.

Attorneys

Jeffrey Schwab

Jeffrey M. Schwab

Jeffrey M. Schwab is a Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.

Dean McGee

Dean McGee is Liberty Justice Center’s Educational Freedom Attorney, where he focuses on empowering parents and students to choose the educational path that best meets their needs.

Case Press Releases

Case In The News

The Chicago Tribune
October 24, 2024

(The Chicago Tribune)—The Chicago Teachers Union, representing more than 25,000 educators, touts itself as “the most democratic institution devoted to this city’s schools.” But for more than four years, the CTU has failed to publish mandatory audited financial reports, an obligation intended to maintain transparency and trust between CTU leadership...

Chicago City Wire
October 12, 2024

(Chicago City Wire)—The transfer of Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) funds towards political efforts to elect Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2023 is at the heart of a recent lawsuit brought by union member Philip Weiss and three other CTU members. Weiss, a Chicago Public Schools social worker who was on...

The Center Square
October 10, 2024

(The Center Square)—The Liberty Justice Center is suing the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) on behalf of four CTU members, demanding that the union produce an audit after failing to do so for four years. In this interview with the Center Square, Liberty Justice Center attorney Dean McGee and plaintiff Philip...

The Chicago Tribune
October 9, 2024

(The Chicago Tribune)—… Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of four CTU members, which alleges the union has not complied with its contractual duties to produce its annual audit detailing union finances. The last published CTU audit covered the first half of 2019, according...

The National Desk | Crisis in the Classroom
October 9, 2024

(The National Desk | Crisis in the Classroom)—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was sued by four of its own members Tuesday, who allege the union has failed to produce a financial audit for four years. CTU’s bylaws require the union to present a report on its finances at each “regular...

Cook County Record
October 9, 2024

(Cook County Record)—As Chicago’s mayor prepares to install a new school board believed to be more amenable to the mayor’s plans to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to meet some of the contract demands of his allies in the Chicago Teachers Union, that union has been hit with a...

Fox 32 Chicago
October 9, 2024

(Fox 32 Chicago)—The Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of four Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members, demanding that the union release a financial audit after allegedly failing to do so for the past four years. According to the Liberty Justice Center, the organization sent a demand letter...

The Daily Caller
October 9, 2024

(The Daily Caller)—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has failed to produce required financial audits disclosing how its money was spent over the past four years, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Multiple union members who work for Chicago Public Schools filed the suit alleging CTU’s most recent audit only covered...

Tampa Free Press
October 9, 2024

(Tampa Free Press)—The Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) on behalf of four union members, demanding the release of long-overdue financial audits. The lawsuit alleges that CTU has not fulfilled its obligation to provide an audited financial report for the past four years, as...

Case Documents

October 8, 2024
October 14, 2024

ABOUT

NAME

Weiss v. Chicago Teachers Union

FILED

October 8, 2024

COURT

Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County Department, Chancery Division

STATUS

Pending

Media

To schedule an interview about this case, please contact us.