On October 1, the Liberty Justice Center issued a demand letter to the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) on behalf of several union members, demanding that CTU produce an audit after failing to do so for four years.
Under CTU’s Constitution and Bylaws, the union is required to provide an annual financial audit to its members. However, CTU has failed to meet this obligation since it published an audit covering the first half of 2019.
The Liberty Justice Center’s demand letter offered the union the opportunity to comply and avoid litigation. When CTU failed to respond by the letter’s deadline, the Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit to compel the missing 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.”
“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.”
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.
The Liberty Justice Center’s legal filings in Weiss v. Chicago Teachers Union are available here.
To schedule an interview, please contact us.
Jeffrey M. Schwab serves as Senior Counsel and Interim Director of Litigation 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 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.
(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...
(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...