Chicago City Wire

A lawsuit brought by four Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members over financial transparency is headed to a pivotal court hearing on May 13, where attorneys for the plaintiffs hope to overcome the union’s attempt to dismiss the case.

The legal action, led by CTU member and Chicago Public Schools social worker Philip Weiss—a 27-year union veteran—accuses union leadership, specifically CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and Financial Secretary Maria Moreno, of failing to provide legally required financial audits for the approximately $30 million in annual dues collected from more than 25,000 members.

Weiss emphasized that the issue isn’t about politics, but about fairness and financial transparency.

“I really want to look through [the records] with professionals who can do a proper, really a forensic audit,” Weiss told Chicago City Wire. “I have no trust in their leadership and I would like transparency so we can see what they've done.”

At the heart of the lawsuit is the way CTU handles its finances. 

“The dues each year have gone up. We spend over $1,400 each ($30 million in all) on dues, and only 17 cents of every dollar actually goes to members’ services,” Weiss said. “It appears as though a lot of it has been spent on political activity of far-left candidates, which don’t represent me in any form.”

Weiss suspects the improper mingling of political and member funds. 

“They're supposed to be different ledgers—one for political action money and one for dues money. And I would like to know if those funds are being co-mingled,” he said. 

The hearing comes three days before CTU is set to vote on its leadership. A group of Chicago Public Schools teachers known as REAL (Respect, Educate, Advocate, Lead) is challenging CTU President Stacy Davis Gates in the upcoming May 16 union election, calling for greater transparency and a shift away from political focus.

Led by high school teacher Erika Meza, the REAL slate argues that current leadership has lost touch with members and—per Weiss’s suit–failed to release required financial audits.  

The CTU, dominated by the CORE caucus for 15 years, has supported what Weiss characterized as “far left” causes and political candidates, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. 

The plaintiffs, represented by the Liberty Justice Center, allege that this lack of transparency has obscured how union dues and political contributions, including nearly $5 million to Johnson’s 2023 campaign, have been used. 

At the time of his election Johnson was a lobbyist working for the CTU in addition to being a Cook County Commissioner. 

Critics argue that the CTU has tightened its political grip on the city—evidenced by Mayor Johnson’s close ties to the union—resulting in diminished governance and accountability, with growing push-back from figures like Weiss and groups such as REAL against the union’s influence over city leadership and policy.

The May 13 hearing will make a determination on CTU’s motion to dismiss the case and a motion to strike part of Weiss’s affidavit. Dean McGee, Educational Freedom Attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, said the union's arguments don’t hold up. 

“We view that motion as meritless,” McGee told Chicago City Wire. “We've responded to the motion, and the court has set a status conference on May 13th, and on that date we're hopeful that the court will deny the motion.”

Despite CTU's legal maneuvers, McGee remains confident.

“Moving to dismiss is a common tactic for parties that are trying to delay a case, even if it's not a strong motion. And we don't view this as a strong motion,” he said. “We're very optimistic.”

The CTU has argued that brief, two-and-a-half-page financial summaries shared with members after the lawsuit was filed fulfill its obligations. 

McGee disagrees, calling the summaries insufficient and misleading. 

“An audit report is a defined term,” McGee said. “It's a report from an independent auditor. That's what CTU members used to get until 2020. The most recent one we have is a full 19-page report from an independent auditor leading with an opinion letter from that auditor.”

Assuming the motion is denied, McGee said his team plans to move quickly into discovery. 

“That's our access to internal documents,” McGee said. “Then we would move to file a motion for  a permanent order requiring CTU to produce full audits to its members—both retroactively, the ones they haven’t produced since 2020, and moving forward.” 

CTU also filed a motion to strike portions of Weiss’s affidavit, which details alleged misleading statements by union leadership and smear tactics against the plaintiffs. 

McGee characterized the motion as an attempt to avoid accountability. 

“CTU is asking the court to strike that affidavit—which essentially just means to ignore it—because it’s embarrassing for them,” McGee said.

Last fall the Liberty Justice Center sent CTU leadership a cease and desist letter in response to alleged intimidation of Weiss.

“We sent our cease and desist letter dated October 14,” McGee said. “Things have improved—they’ve been quiet.”

Weiss, who was formerly a candidate for pension trustee, said the union's leadership used misleading tactics during his campaign.

“There have not been personal attacks, but I mean, they put forth false information before my election, both Stacey [Davis Gates] did and their attorney on the record, which interfered with my [run] for pension trustee,” Weiss said.

Weiss claims the retaliation escalated after the lawsuit was filed, describing a climate of internal hostility. 

“Delegates were conspiring to retaliate against me, which I found out because there happened to be someone who wasn't a delegate in the room,” he explained. “He ran over to tell me that they were planning on doing something… that's why we filed the cease and desist order.”

According to Weiss, union delegates even admitted their intentions directly. 

“A delegate did indicate in a text message to me they were planning on retaliating,” he said. “He was talking to other delegates. I mean, they were conspiring against me.” 

Weiss also criticized the union’s financial practices and questioned the integrity of statements made by CTU attorney Robert Bloch. 

“They said all I had to do was ask for those audits and they would have provided it,” Weiss said. “Robert Bloch, the attorney, was very clear that he doesn't respond to these sorts of threatening demand letters. And then he found out in court I had multiple written requests for the audit, and they didn’t respond to them.”

Weiss accused Bloch of acting more as a political operative than a legal advocate. 

“Everything Robert Bloch was saying was meant to diminish and be hurtful to my candidacy,” he said. “He's supposed to work for the CTU, but he seems to be working for the leadership and the court caucus interest.”

The May 13 hearing could mark a turning point in what McGee describes as a straightforward case. 

“It's a very simple case, and really it should have never needed litigation,” McGee said.  “This is just something that CTU should have continued to provide to its members.”  

The case is being heard in the Circuit Court of Cook County before Judge David Atkins.