Chicago City Wire

When asked during a debate if he disagrees with any of the political stances of his boss, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis-Gates, Johnson dodged the question.

“If you’re asking me if I do not believe in public education, what kind of question is that?” Johnson said.

Davis-Gates has paid Johnson nearly $400,000 since he won election to the Cook County Board in 2018, according to a review of U.S. Department of Labor filings by Chicago City Wire.

That includes more than $100,000 in 2019 and more than $80,000 in each of 2020, 2021, and 2022, the filings show.

Johnson's financial disclosure statements required for his run for Chicago mayor indicate "more than $25,000" in payments each year for his lobbying work, and his position on the Illinois Federation of Teachers board of directors, where he also works for Davis-Gates. 

All told, Davis-Gates'-controlled organization have paid Johnson more than Cook County taxpayers.

In 2019, Johnson's Cook County commissioner salary was $85,000. 

That year, the Illinois Policy Institute reported that Johnson was a "legislative" employee responsible for "representational activities" between June 2018 and June 2019.

Among the positions for which Johnson has lobbied on Davis-Gates' behalf: defunding the police, removing police from schools and leading CTU members on an "illegal strike."

Johnson, who worked as a social studies teacher for four years-- from 2008 to 2011-- before moving to a lobbying position, is already eligible for a pension worth $1.1 million, according to Illinois Policy.

A loophole in the Illinois state pension code allows non-teachers and non-school employees to participate in the teachers' pension fund, accumulating "creditable service" for his activist work with Davis-Gates. That loophole was closed in 2012; Johnson is grandfathered in.

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$391,585 from CTU to Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson

How much has the Chicago Teacher's Union paid to Johnson since his election to the Cook County Board?

2022	$85,906
2021	$83,526
2020	$86,122
2019	$103,100
2018	$32,931
Total	$391,585

Source: U.S. Department of Labor Filings; data includes March-Dec. 2018