A letter sent by an alderman to Illinois state authorities decries the degree to which school board members are allegedly involved in ongoing teachers negotiations and asks for an investigation and opinion regarding the potential legal and ethical breaches as a result.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, hand-delivered his message Thursday to Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Dr. Tony Sanders, state superintendent of education.
“Various media outlets have published disturbing reports of conduct on the part of some personnel associated with Chicago Public Schools, potentially implicating unfair labor practices and breaches of fiduciary duty,” Villegas wrote.
CTU’s contract expired in June and bargaining has been ongoing for months — ramping up recently as both sides make public their frustrations with negotiations. CTU members argue that the election of Donald J. Trump adds urgency as the nation’s new leader promises to dismantle the Department of Education and lead the largest deportation efforts in the history of the United States.
Meanwhile, some aldermen — like Villegas — have questioned the school board’s alignment with Mayor Brandon Johnson and the powerful teachers union that helped him rise to power. The mayor is a former teacher and CTU organizer.
“We have conflicts of interest just all over the place,” Villegas said in an interview with the Tribune. “I want to make sure that the teachers have a fair contract, but I also want to make sure that the taxpayers are also protected as well. I don’t feel that (the) second part is being taken into consideration.”
The letter urges the importance of ethical governance within CPS. Villegas suggests that the Chicago Teachers Union and board members are “cutting out” the district’s chief of staff, Pedro Martinez, in collective bargaining negotiations. Under the Illinois School Code, Martinez has exclusive statutory authority to negotiate collective bargaining agreements, Villegas wrote.
Villegas called the board’s discussions of contract negotiations ahead of time “troubling.” The board’s role, he said, is “to wait until the CEO CPS and their staff have agreed to a contract … and then the board is to approve the contract” after getting briefed.
In a post on social media, CTU said the board is not “colluding” with the union during contract negotiations. CTU called the letter “an absurd and legally incoherent accusation.”
“There isn’t an organization in America where the CEO gets to operate independently from its board of directors or a school district in America where a superintendent gets to override the school board,” CTU wrote.
Ultimately, the CEO and board are supposed to have a collaborative relationship. The CEO reports to the board, which studies the needs of the students and community. According to the district’s board rules, Martinez negotiates all collective bargaining agreements on behalf of the board and submits tentative agreements to the board for adoption and approval.
The board and CEO have been at odds for months, however, over a financial dispute that led to the resignation of all seven members in early October. Johnson appointed a new board just days later.
The union and district are getting closer to a resolution at the bargaining table, both union and district officials said Thursday. But the letter suggests that lines between the distinct Board of Education and the CTU are being blurred in murky ways.
Beyond concerns about overstepping the CEO’s authority, Villegas wrote about how some board members participating in negotiations have a direct connection to CTU, “presenting a clear conflict between CPS interests and CTU interests.”
Villegas cited a 1984 Illinois Appellate Court case between the Board of Education of Niles Township and the Regional Board of School Trustees of Cook County that he said emphasized the invalidity of board decisions when there are conflicts of interest.
Moving forward, Villegas directed the two Illinois state officials and recipients of the letter to investigate whether the involvement of one or more school board members in CTU collective bargaining matters constitutes a breach of labor practices and to provide an opinion on how the district or public can respond.
Raoul said he would review the letter and follow up with Villegas. Sanders did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
