Chicago City Wire

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, a staunch opponent to school choice, sends one of her children to a private school, according to reports. 

In August, Max Preps reported that Gates' son was added to the soccer team roster at De La Salle Institute, an elite Catholic School that counts former Chicago mayors Richard M. Daley and Michael Bilandic as alumni.

Capitol Fax owner Rich Miller said neither Davis Gates nor CTU representatives responded to interview requests about the union president's "hypocritical stance on school choice."

Davis Gates, who also is the executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, has taken heat from some CTU members on social media, according to school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis. He posted a screenshot from an administrator of a Chicago Teachers Union private Facebook group in a response to the news.

"This is in response to the many members who sent us articles regarding a union leader's choice of school for their child. … We do dislike the hypocrisy of CTU when they have gone after people who made the same choice," the post read.

Davis Gates' opposition to school choice is well documented. She lobbied state lawmakers to end the Invest in Kids Act, which provided private school scholarships to 9,000 students. She once authored a social media post saying that school choice "actually the choice of racists."

She called private schools "Segregation Academies" and writing in a Twitter post that school choice "was created to avoid integrating schools with Black children.”

Davis Gates told Chicago Magazine, "“I can’t advocate on behalf of public education and the children of this city and educators in this city without it taking root in my own household.”

On Capitol Fax Miller posted an unanswered question he had for Davis Gates: "Stacy, if Illinois private schools are racist, why are you sending your child to one?"

"Davis-Gates’ actions speak louder than her words. They highlight the absurdity of the situation - advocating against something you choose to personally benefit from and can personally afford- unlike many other parents who cannot afford a private school without the Invest in Kids Act," Miller wrote.

"Davis-Gates’ actions, not her words, is proof positive that public education might not be the best fit for every student, and that parents should have the freedom to choose the education that best suits their children’s needs and aspirations."