FIRST ON FOX – The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is under investigation by the House Education and Workforce Committee for allegedly failing to show how it has spent union members’ money over the past five years, according to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
The committee sent a letter to CTU President Stacy Davis Gates stating that evidence suggests the union failed to provide members with complete financial audits since 2020.
"When unions flout these obligations, they betray the trust of the very people they are meant to serve … Every dollar paid by workers should serve their interests, not those of a select few operating in the shadows," the letter said.
Furthermore, the committee suggested that CTU’s conduct may justify strengthening federal reporting requirements, so members gain access to more timely, detailed financial information.
The letter further stated that, in light of CTU’s "failures" to provide full financial audits since 2019, the committee is examining whether reforms to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) are needed to "protect union members’ rights."
"This failure to disclose financial information strips dues-paying members of their basic right to understand how their money is spent. The Committee intends to determine how this breakdown in transparency occurred, which will inform its potential reforms to the LMRDA," the committee wrote.
A full annual audit requires the financial secretary to furnish an audited report published in the union’s newsletter and the Board of Trustees to obtain an annual audit and make it available for members for inspection.
Because CTU is more than five years behind on publishing its full annual audits, in violation of its own bylaws, the committee cited reports that Davis Gates and other CTU leaders allegedly dismissed audit requests from members as racially motivated "dog whistles."
By Dec. 8, 2025, CTU must submit to the committee all unabridged audited financial reports from 2019 through 2024, meeting minutes or equivalent records since Sept. 9 when members requested audits and all written member requests for audits since Sept. 9, 2020, along with the union’s responses.
Labor unions are required by law under the 1959 LMDRA to file annual reports with the secretary of Labor to ensure transparency, prevent abuses and maintain accountability.
CTU did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The committee’s letter follows a Nov. 12 inspector general report that found Chicago Public Schools (CPS) staff spent $7 million in COVID relief funds on luxury hotel stays, Las Vegas conferences and international trips. Other expenses included limousine rides and spa visits paid for by Chicago taxpayers.
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Per the report, at least $18 million was spent on travel between 2021 and 2024 that was not approved.
Fox News Digital also recently reported on Chicago Public Schools’ chronic teacher absences after the Illinois State Board of Education revealed that 43.2 percent of teachers in the district logged 10 or more absences during the 2024–25 school year.
In addition to chronic absences, CPS enrollment continues to decline. Interim CEO Macquline King announced in September that total enrollment is 316,224 — a 2.8% drop from last year.
