By: Tahman Bradley and Ethan Illers | November 25, 2025
CHICAGO (WGN-TV) – The Chicago Teachers Union is at the center of a Capitol Hill probe and is now cooperating with a Congressional inquiry into its finances regarding whether the CTU has been keeping financial audits from members.
The Republican-controlled House Committee on Education and Workforce wrote CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, accusing the union of failing to show members “complete financial audits” for each of the last five years, which violates union bylaws.
Attorney Michael Bromwich, who is representing the CTU, penned a letter saying the union will cooperate and respond by Dec. 22.
“We are confident that our responses will fully answer any legitimate questions and address the allegations contained in your letter,” Bromwich wrote, while also noting all audits are available to all CTU members.
The conservative legal group, Liberty Justice Center, represents CTU members who are suing to see financial records.
“They’ve asked for these financial reports that were made available for them every year until 2019, and then after 2019 they weren’t published anymore,” Jeffery Schwab of Liberty Justice Center said. “They also are concerned about the financial stability of the union.”
In recent years, the CTU has stepped up its political activity, supporting social and economic issues as well as candidates for office, famously Mayor Brandon Johnson.
The right-wing research group Illinois Policy Institute has called for greater transparency from CTU as it closely scrutinizes public education in Chicago.
“The Chicago Teachers Union is currently the largest political spender in the city of Chicago and that really takes its toll on its membership, many of whom don’t really want to be paying money into a political machine,” Austin Berg, executive director of the Chicago Policy Center, said.
The CTU is not the only union spending big on politics.
Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. said they’re considering new transparency legislation.
The House committee’s letter said the information it has requested from the CTU could shape debate about updates to federal labor-management laws.
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