Chicago City Wire

School Choice Advocate: 'Chicago Teachers Union president sent her son to a private school after calling school choice racist,' responding to the president's speech at the AFT Convention on July 24.

"Chicago Teachers Union president sent her son to a private school after calling school choice racist," said Corey A. DeAngelis, Senior Fellow.

Stacy Davis Gates, President of the Chicago Teachers Union, spoke at Randi Weingarten’s convention saying, "So AFT, this ain't shocking and aw. This is about power!"

Corey A. DeAngelis, Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children | Cato Institute

According to Davis Gates, the Chicago Teachers Union's president sent her child to a Catholic private school after previously stating, "my children go to Chicago Public Schools. These are the things that legitimize my space within the coalition." She persisted in her statements that sending her children to public schools is important for her position by saying, "I can’t advocate on behalf of public education without it taking root in my own household." This comes despite her strong opposition to school choice.

The Chicago Teachers Union has made demands from the Chicago Mayor that could cost taxpayers $51.5 billion. Many of these demands are not present in other major city teachers unions' agreements. The extraordinary demands include migrant student stipends, carbon-neutral schools, and electric buses. Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago, was once a teachers union lobbyist.

While at the American Federation of Teachers Convention, Mayor Johnson said that he could "hear a little alcohol in the air. Feels like 8th period on the last day of school in here. Working on that in your union contract so you don't got to sneak it out of your desk."