Chicago Teachers Union in a State of Panic

I would like to say you can take that in both meanings of the word, but while I believe the State of Illinois should be described as a "state of panic," the politicians running the state, or running the state into the ground, are not panicking enough. From Chicago Contrarian: CTU’s CORE Caucus in a State of Panic as Political Setbacks Mount

CORE stands for Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators, and it is currently the faction in charge of the CTU.

The union faces public controversy, member-led litigation, and congressional scrutiny over its failure to release audited financial reports for five consecutive years. Following legal and political pressure, the CTU released backdated audits; however, serious questions remain regarding omitted data, missing financial transparency, and the massive allocation of union dues toward political activism rather than direct member representation.

Five years is a long time, not to release audited financial statements. I work for Fortune 100 companies that could close the books on a year, by January 15th, and produce an audited financial report before the end of the first quarter. Chicago Teachers Union is less complicated than any of those businesses. So what is the problem?

The union is suing, and being sued by, the Illinois Policy Institute and the Liberty Justice Center. The CTU is claiming defamation, the other organizations are suing over the lack of financial transparency. But that is really just the sideshow.

Citywide, public support for the CTU has dropped significantly. An Illinois Policy Institute poll found that only 27.5 percent of Chicago voters hold a favorable opinion of the union, while 53.6 percent view it unfavorably. For every voter with a favorable view, two view the union negatively, and over 50 percent of voters report being less likely to support candidates backed by CTU money. This decline in popularity is producing a consistent trail of electoral defeats since Brandon Johnson’s election in 2023.

Click thru for details. The one that most caught my eye is that the budget for Chicago Public Schools, and by extension the CTU, keeps going up, despite the fact that enrollment has been going down for a number of years. And don't ask about test scores.

Do I expect anything to get better in Chicago education? No. I expect that the schools will still consume an ever-larger part of Chicago taxes, despite shrinking enrollment, and I expect that Chicago schools will fail to education Chicago students.