As Stacy Davis Gates expands her clout by taking over as the head of a statewide teachers union, the new job may allow her greater access to another large pot of campaign money just as her ally, Mayor Brandon Johnson, prepares to run for reelection.
It’s well known that Gates, who retains her post as head of the Chicago Teachers Union, and Johnson are close politically and that the CTU was a significant force in getting him elected to City Hall in 2023 — pumping millions of dollars into his campaign fund, and putting foot soldiers onto the streets to drum up voter support.
But less known is that the Illinois Federation of Teachers — the CTU’s statewide parent organization that Gates recently took over as the new president, replacing longtime chief Dan Montgomery — also maintains a political action committee that has given nearly $1 million to Johnson’s election efforts.
Gates’ elevation from IFT executive vice president could give her greater voice over how that IFT fund dispatches its cash — now totaling over $2 million.
It’s not something she or her aides will discuss. Nor will Montgomery, who is still listed with state election regulators as the chair of the IFT’s “COPE” fund — which stands for Committee on Political Education, and whose stated aim is to “support candidates for public office.”
Likewise, Gates won’t reveal her new salary. She currently makes around $195,000 from the CTU, according to U.S. Labor Department records, which show Montgomery’s compensation is about $278,000 a year. It’s unclear whether Gates will be collecting both.
In past years, one of Gates’ predecessors who oversaw the CTU and IFT, the late Tom Reece, was also the chairman of the IFT’s political fund.
While a Cook County commissioner, Johnson announced in October 2022 he was running as a Democrat for Chicago mayor.
Just days before, the IFT fund made what appears to be its largest-ever campaign contribution until that point to Friends of Brandon Johnson: $150,000.
That was quickly followed by other notable campaign contributions from the group: $90,100 in November 2022 and $100,000 in February 2023 — two weeks before the election that saw Johnson emerge as one of the top two vote getters and therefore advancing to an April runoff in which he beat former Chicago Public Schools chief Paul Vallas.
A week after that first election victory, the IFT fund gave Johnson $500,000, according to Illinois State Board of Elections records.
After Johnson’s April 2023 election victory, the IFT contributed $2,500 to Johnson’s fund. In July of this year, the IFT committee gave him $7,000.
Prior to his run to City Hall, the IFT’s biggest donation to Johnson was $55,000 in 2018, records show.
The CTU maintains at least two political action committees, one with around $2,000 on hand that’s overseen by Gates, another with more than $500,000 with other officials listed as the officers.
Another political fund with close ties to Johnson is affiliated with United Working Families, where Johnson’s campaign treasurer, Crystal Gardner, worked for years, and that’s been heavily funded by the CTU and the Service Employees International Union.
Johnson is now chairman of his own campaign fund, but until a month ago it was Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps, who has been doubling as a CTU employee and replaced Johnson on the Cook County Board.
City Hall ultimately oversees contracts between Chicago Public Schools and the CTU, along with labor agreements with other unions. Between late 2022 and late 2023, more than 80% of the $13.6 million raised by Johnson’s campaign came from organized labor and affiliated organizations, the Sun-Times has reported.
The IFT fund is fueled by dues from teacher union chapters, and in recent months has made more than $170,000 in campaign contributions to political funds, including those benefiting state legislative leaders who the unions are pushing for more education funding.
In 2024 and 2025 alone, the IFT political committee has given roughly $600,000 apiece to the Democratic campaign funds benefiting Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) and state Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park.)
The IFT’s parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers, has given more than $2 million in campaign money to Johnson’s election efforts since 2018, records show.