Kali Fontinella

If you want a textbook example of teachers union corruption, look no further than the gold standard for scandal and failure: the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). The year 2023 was a banner year of debacles for what was the largest local union in the American Federation of Teachers until the 1960s. Similar to what the modern U.S. president hailing from the same city used to say, change you can choose to believe in came to the CTU when they elected Stacy Davis Gates as their own new president in May of 2022. Like former President Barack Obama, the results were disappointing, to say the least.

Sexual Abuse, Lost Laptops, and Hypocrisy

Where to begin? In 2023, there were 446 sexual abuse allegations in the Chicago Public School (CPS) system, ranging from sexual harassment to “the appearance of impropriety or possible grooming concerns.” Yikes.

Yet the issue of sexual abuse seems to have been overshadowed in the media by the loss of 77,000 laptops and other electronic devices..

Then, there are the scandals surrounding their new union president. Gates publicly opposed Chicago’s only school choice program, only to be caught sending her own son to private school. Choice for me, not for thee. She helped end the only lifeline for Chicago students who want out of their failing public schools, but her son gets the benefits of a pricey quality education, which she can afford with her income, which is just short of $300,000 a year. For those families without such resources? Tough luck.

But opposing school choice while sending your kids to private schools is par for the course for leftist politicians and teachers union leaders. So is demanding the “rich” (how much does she make a year again?) pay their fair share of taxes while skirting tax laws. Gates has reportedly claimed an Indiana tax break meant for Indiana residents, while not residing in the home—a great example of integrity for the students of Chicago Public Schools.