By: Mark Glennon*
Stacy Davis-Gates is undoubtedly Illinois’ most prominent and rabid opponent of school choice — and pretty much everybody and everything associated with it, all of which she labels racist or worse. As president of the Chicago Teachers Union, vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, she is at the forefront of its campaign to kill Illinois’ meager Invest in Kids Act, which currently gives about 9,000 disadvantaged kids scholarships to attend private schools. “It must be ‘game over'” for the program, the CTU says.
But, as initially reported by SubX News, she sends one of her kids to to Chicago’s De La Salle Institute, a private, Catholic high school.
Consider that in light of some of what she has said against providing needy parents with the means to attend a private school like De La Salle through school choice programs [emphasis is added]:
“I’m also a mother, my children go to the Chicago public school,” she said in a webinar. “These are things that help to legitimize my space within the coalition but also helps to amplify my voice as a leader in labor because a white dude whose kids go to school in the suburbs can’t really have that same voice in the same way.”
When asked in an interview if she had concerns about school-choice and privatization supporters running for the school board, she said, “Yes, we are concerned about the encroachment of fascists in Chicago. We are concerned about the marginalization of public education through the eyes of those who’ve never intended for Black people to be educated. So we’re going to fight tooth and nail to make sure that type of fascism and racism does not exist on our Board of Education.”
“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,” she told Chicago Magazine.
On Twitter, she has said things like “School choice was actually the choice of racists. It was created to avoid integrating schools with Black children.” Private schools are “Segregation Academies,” she wrote on Twitter. “Call them private schools supported by taxpayer funds – vouchers – so your northern cousins understand better,” she said. And she linked to an article titled “The Racist Origins of Private School Vouchers.”
De La Salle, where Davis-Gates sends one of her three kids, has long been a diamond in the rough of Southside high schools. But with tuition at $14,750 per year, it’s open only to those with some means, like Davis-Gates, and the few who are fortunate enough to get financial help.
School choice is about getting that help to more of the poor –- creating equality of choice with those who have means. The Invest in Kids Act does that, though for too few students thanks to its paltry funding. Davis-Gates’ opposition to it and her statements about private schools, all while constantly claiming status as the poor’s heroine, are hypocrisy at its most revolting.
In a Chicago mayoral endorsement of Brandon Johnson, she wrote she picked somebody who “values my intersections.”
Her “intersections” include two faces.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
UPDATE: This column was updated to include Davis-Gates’ titles of vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and executive vice president of The Illinois Federation of Teachers, and to reflect more confirmation that Davis-Gates has a child enrolled in a private school. See the following posted on Twitter Monday afternoon:
BREAKING: An admin of a Chicago Teachers Union private Facebook group posted about their president, Stacy Davis Gates, reportedly sending her son to a private school.
"We do dislike the hypocrisy of CTU when they have gone after people who made the same choice" pic.twitter.com/Yl2DCSDGsU
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) September 4, 2023
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
This person as the right to send her kids anywhere she wants to school. She needs to make her own decisions about her family, just as any one would. The challenge with this particular person is the job she has, the role she has, the visibility she has in the public space. Her method of communication in the form of preaching to the taxpaying public about how we should think, why private schools are bad for public schools, why school choice programs are bad for public schools and whos fault it is that schools are below expectations. I don’t believe… Read more »
https://capitolfax.com/2023/09/06/ctu-president-wont-answer-questions-about-enrolling-her-son-in-private-prep-school/
SDG blames white privilege for everything — except when it works for her
Here is an article comparing those with vouchers attending private schools who were in public schools and outcomes in Florida.
https://www.educationnext.org/does-competition-improve-public-schools/
Reading through all of this and the posts below makes me wonder why the voters of Illinois simply don’t just demand better schools?
Demand? That’s one of those things easy to say, but obviously VERY hard to accomplish.
Touchee Mark!!!!! I read zerohedge articles every day and saw your article on it early this morning! Great, great research and exposing another powerful democrat caught red-handed! By you! Congratulations!
Massive hypocrisy by leftist democrats has been going on…….forever.
And goes along with their penchant for lying. Why democrat voters believe them, (and their lying main media), is astounding and sad.
Reading Cory DeAngelis’ twitter thread. It appears that membership was informed weeks ago. Why didn’t the brilliant minds at CTU get ahead of this and own the narrative instead of being forced to play defense? Stupid.
https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1698803654558380252
Of course she does. She doesn’t want her kids attending underperforming schools with “fatherless, violent, deplorable negroes” as she probably phrases it.
This is so funny. It doesn’t get more obvious… And, you know what? Lib/Dems/Progressives KNOW they can do pretty much anything without ANY CONSEQUENCE…
It’s like Biden’s very obvious cognitive decline… Just ignore FACTS and REALITY and move along… Seriously, nothing at all to see here….
I believe I have read that SDG graduated from St Mary’s College in Indiana, a private college with hefty tuition. Don’t know if she received any financial aid or not though I know that St Mary’s has been increasing the amount of aid it offers in order to increase minority enrollment. If I am correct about this SDG would seem to have benefited from a private school education herself, much less for her son.
You should check to see if those things are true before putting up a comment and wasting everybody’s time on your speculation.
She attended Saint Mary’s College, the University of Notre Dame and Concordia University.
I think Concordia is where teachers typically go for easy educational credits to advance lanes on the salary schedule.
Where she went to college really is of no consequence. Lots of factors go into college choices, including financial aid, scholarships and the like. Like most everyone worse, SDG made college choices which she perceived made sense for her. It appears to be hypocritical to send her kid to private school as opposed to the public schools of which she is the most powerful representative. But merely pointing out hypocrisy does not advance policy assertions. Both CPS and CTU if forced have to acknowledge CPS has problems, but reflexively point to underinvestment, I.e. the lack of massive income transfers, as… Read more »
You’ve got to be kidding here! That’s what most of your commenters do here—make wild-ass claims as to what’s true based on their particular political prejudices more than researching it dispassionately! Wirepoints as a website of devoted followers wouldn’t likely exist without that faithful prejudice-driven tribe.
James, that’s not what most commenters do here and commenters represent less than one percent of readers of any given article.
The end of your sentence likely is true. The beginning is simply your wishful take on it. A precious few respond critically and intelligently while most simply “shoot from the lip” according to their “world view” of life in IL.
James – seems like a sweeping generalization- you would better with specific factual examples. I am surprised at the downvotes on my post. Yes, SDG appears hypocritical, and that is a problem, but that pales in comparison to her statements that her requests for additional billions will come from “rich people”. No explanation, no understanding of tax policy, or how to obtain non transitory incremental revenue for the schools. Just “rich people”. Anyone who has had the least bit of exposure to tax policy knows there are not enough of them. We tax income and not wealth, so these details… Read more »
I don’t want to name names re my thoughts as to the worst examples of comment writers. It’s not worth the likely never-ending back-and-forth that would ensue with them or about them. I am but one person here and far from being the Lord of the Manor. Take my views and admonitions with “a grain of salt,” seriously or ignore them—your choice.
I know you mean me as the worst. That’s OK, you don’t like my comments. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I don’t have opinions, I have facts, and I apply my knowledge to facts as they are. And when you or others think i’m wrong, it is because you cannot understand my insights. I am seeing and observing things, and commenting on them, in a higher plane than you are used to engaging with. If this were Dungeons and Dragons, I’d be rolling an 18 INT, with a +3 Ring of Intellect bonus. LOL, not really, but I do… Read more »
I think you are very bright, but I also think you are an unhappy person at heart and looking for where your life has failed to meet your expectations for it. In doing that you’re on constant vigil for people who have “done you wrong.” Chances are you into some degree of being a control freak, foever on the prowl for ways to control your environment and your destiny. Partly that means looking for real or supposed “enemies.” You seem to find fault at ever turn. Again, I don’t think you are a happy person at your core. Just my… Read more »
I have to disagree. I have observed and posted as well opinions on many of the stories here. They are opinions though and as such are not “wild a**ed claims.” They are opinions just as editorials are opinions; they are not claims.
Well, you are entitled to your opinion. But, what I read all too often is where a commenter’s mouth works before his brain has a chance to moderate or at least politely state the opinion expressed. Presumably many, or maybe most, people all too well what I mean having experienced it when a child or teenager expresses uncontrollable rage. That’s the impression some commenters leave with their writings. It’s not every commenter, of course, but it leaves a bad impression as I see it. There are simply too many of that ilk who comment here. It would gradually start to… Read more »
Not sure what you’re looking for in the comments section of a website that chronicles the collapse of Illinois, one article at a time. If you’re looking for Go Illini! type fantasy LARPing, there’s Crapital Fax. But for those of us that live in the real world, you’re going to get the cynical takes about Illinois.
Apparently so. I just wish people in general here, there and everywhere in this country were better at expressing an opinion with more emphasis toward persuasion and less in denigrating their fellow man. Name calling is the worst sort of way to get someone to your point of view. Its simply a way of making the one doing it feel more powerful for the moment than his opinion, but its not an opinion changer for the guy at the other end generally. As a society sadly we’re more into denigrating our opponents than trying to change their mind on any… Read more »
There are many things happening today that society at large would not have tolerated in the “good old days”. And a great many of those things are happening in our public schools.
Some say a school is a reflection of its community. It’s a chicken and egg story, which is the bigger source of a school’s problems?
The community didn’t force the education system to abandon phonics in favor of “whole language”. The community didn’t force the education system to abandon traditional methods of teaching math in favor of “new math” that nobody can understand. The community didn’t force the education system to embrace identity politics, gender fluidity, and DEI. All of these concepts originated in the education system. They are the ideas of people who believe that their vision of a perfect society should displace generations of thought and experience that came before them. If you don’t like the results of these ideas (as I don’t),… Read more »
What you fail to consider is the disparate sets of societal expectations schools are expected to serve somewhat equally and well. Just as people you know are different multiply that idea many times over to have at least a vague understanding of what it’s like having to deal with people who have conflicting values and expectations on a larger scale where conflicts and physical confrontations can be frequent. Just getting along peacefully in such a place is difficult many times let alone getting such people to be acquiescent to one set of agreeable prescribed behaviors and goals. It’s likely you’ve… Read more »
Oh the irony of your own post!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SDG is an unflushed toilet of race hate and ignorance
Not hypocrisy, but hierarchy. She’s better than you and she sends her kid to private schools. The rest of you are just proles and plebs, not worthy of sharing the same hallways as her children! That’s why she doesn’t feel the need to answer to you why her children attend private schools while she is the head of the CTU.
Anyone with money sends their children to private schools if they want them to get an education. CPS is not really school, it is a place to give adults huge paychecks, lots of benefits and Overley generous pensions at a young age. CTU get union dues for shacking down the taxpayers.
Weak. You gotta do better than that.
Yep and the students at her son’s new school have off-duty CPD security while Davis-Gates calls for defunding police and cops out of CPS schools.
Hmm, could Stacy be a racist? If so, how’d she get the top leadership position at the CTU?
There’s nothing to see here folks. This is the same song as defund the police while progs have their own private security detail. Lori had half a police precinct protecting her when she was the mayor.
I mean, what’s the point – the Democrat Marxists don’t care if their lying is in the open, they have ‘run of the mill’ in Chicago and IL.
CTU teachers are some of the best informed people around about how awful CPS schools are, so all this makes sense. Many CPS teachers don’t want the schools they teach in anywhere near their own kids. I don’t blame them. The hypocrisy stinks to high heaven but simultaneously their actions scream out with clarity of how bad these schools are even better than you or I could argue. So let’s end the game playing here and open up the funds. Let parents compete to get their kids into De La Salle too. When the funds follow parents these finer schools… Read more »
This pretty much puts a fork into union opposition to the Invest in Kids Act. Stacy makes well over $200K/yr and can afford the tuition. Limiting access implies a members-only country club mentality that will not play well among the commoners. She’s basically behind the velvet rope in the VIP area laughing at everyone on the other side.
I dunno. Don’t underestimate the subservience of Speaker Welch and Senate President Harmon to the teachers’ unions. You know how much money they’ve gotten from teachers’ unions, which you report on so well. And Pritzker has never shown one instance of defying them.
“This pretty much puts a fork into union opposition to the Invest in Kids Act”
I don’t see that one bit. You, Stacy and others remain free to decide where to send your own kids to school. Just don’t expect the taxpayers to pay for it if you decide on private education. Nothing changes from this “revelation”.
So, PPF, only folks with money should have choice, eh? And we shouldn’t ask for them to pay something to give that choice to others, right?
So, Mark, only folks with money that can afford Wilmette should be able to attend New Trier? Maybe we should just let everyone that wants to attend New Trier enroll. It sounds like you wouldn’t mind if your neighbors opened up their school system and wallets to give others a choice. Somehow I don’t think your neighbors are as generous as you.
Just because taxpayers don’t want to pay for something doesn’t mean you no longer have a choice. It’s the same silly argument that the left uses when insurance plans won’t pay for abortions or birth control.
Can kids in Maywood attend Payton College Prep?
PPF – I am not understanding you. Education is a public good, and at the K-12 level can be delivered through Government owned resources or private owned resources (subject to regulation). The analogy to paying for abortions makes no sense. No one reasonably can argue that education has moral challenges like abortion. We all can agree on the benefits of a sound K-12 education. Why would a taxpayer care if per capita funds get spent through private delivery as opposed to Government delivery (provided the schools are safe)? They don’t care – its the teachers union that cares because the… Read more »
PPF, that’s the same, old straw man argument we often hear from school choice opponents. I’ve heard nobody proposing that all students get assistance as large as what it would take to match New Trier. That would be unaffordable and, as you say, people would not be generous enough to pay that much. It would also be a waste of money in my view. Instead, proposals like we favor, which are being embraced in many states, focus mostly on the poor — giving families as much assistance as is feasible to give them the option of choosing something other than… Read more »
Mark-Here is some info about New Trier. Scroll through the photos and look at the demographic makeup of the 4,000 students. I’ll wager that most kids come from 2 parent households and the parents are involved in their kids education at home. https://www.newtrier.k12.il.us/ According to this PDF 90% of the revenue comes from property taxes. Yes the amount of taxes on properties are high but so are the values when compared to other cities. Taxes are just under 2% of value compared to Rockford at just under 4% (double) but was over 5% a few years back. Per pupil expenditure… Read more »
Mark, You made offered the question, “only folks with money should have choice, eh?” My point Mark was that money does dictate where you live and the type of education one receives. I point to New Trier because it is a top rated school that is not open to everyone unless you have money to move into the neighborhood. This wasn’t a straw man argument but rather stated to point out that your desire to help those without money is limited as you admitted in your post above. Which is fine, as my desire to spend money on these areas… Read more »
OH PPF, you got it all wrong, again! How silly. The school choice program funded students instead of systems! It’s not paying for extras! But the teachers union can’t have competition, so the program was terminated!
You repeatedly, and likely intentionally, always deny or downplay the soft (And sometimes hard) corruption issues in IL politics!
And Russians LOVE Putin too, he gets 70% of the voter every election! It’s the will of the people, right? LOL
One’s true beliefs are often reflected in their own actions, especially the ones afforded a choice. Stacy stated unequivocally, with her own money, that CPS is inadequate for her child’s needs. That she has a direct hand in its inadequacy is a topic for another time.
Let’s say Stacy was a stay-at-home mom without the $200,000 salary. Would she have made the same exact choice? Guessing no. Now, should we assist her in that choice? That’s the question at hand. But she’s actively working to block that choice to those less privileged than her. It’s a matter of equity.
Many cops, firemen, teachers, administers send their children to private schools. They got more than enough money to send their children to the best schools. The taxpayer is broke after paying their taxes so they must go to worthless public schools. Rich government workers are better than poor honest private sector workers.
We no longer have a thriving middle class. We have a “Government Class”.
45% of the people working in my city work for Government. A further 25% are Government pensioners.
Only going to get worse until something intervenes.
Nope, the Sheeple don’t care. It’s to late.
Uh-Oh Mark…
Will they use the ‘doxing law’ against you…?
Only if they want us to have a court stuff the First Amendment down their throats.
all information is public domain and third party … and accessible by anyone … we invite the the ctu and anyone else to take us to court where we would have discovery and then really show people the corruption at the ctu and illinois politcs … drkugler
https://subx.news
Reminiscent of how the union got burned when they refused to return to classroom instruction and parents got an eyeful via Zoom as to what was really going on at daycare, er public school.
In other CTU news, its Vice President Jackson Potter was on a panel Sunday at the big Socialism 2023 Conference in Chicago, explaining how they took over the city. The panel is titled “How did Chicago Beat Back the Liberal Machine?” Naturally, former CTU President Jesse Sharkey will also be on a panel. https://socialismconference.org/2023-schedule/. Masks, of course, are required for all conference attendees.
The event is co-sponsored by Haymarket Books, which I believe is run by Sharkey’s wife, whose father was Royal Carribean’s CEO up until last year. In other words, a business propped up on Wall Street excess and corporate greed.
Sharkey lives in a mansion on a triple lot with heavy security in Roger’s Park. The communists always live lavishly while they destroy everyone else’s lives. The commies in charge always come from the elite. Same pattern every time.
I don’t doubt for a minute that the CTU and their private-sector enablers, and the pol’s the CTU bankrolls, are just as deep in fraudulent ‘Madigan-like stuff’ as Madigan was. “Pay to play’ politics defines how the CTU (and AFSCME and SEIU, etc) leverage their interests. That’s why we owe ’em $200 Billion some-odd. Everyone knows that it’s an controvertible and self-evident fact that Illinois pol’s expect to ‘play’ for ‘pay.’ Check any Federal Prison, just about, for proof. The CTU, of course, also stands out as proudly-n-loudly anti-capitalist and Marxist. Jeez, how can anyone possibly conclude that there aren’t… Read more »
in these times is run by Julie Fain jesse’e wife both who covered up rape cases in the ISO
In light of the revelation of a sexual assault accusation that was grossly mishandled by once-leading members of the organization, Tess Carter reassesses her own experience as a survivor of abuse committed by an ex-ISO member.
https://socialistworker.org/2019/04/11/open-letter-to-some-ex-leaders-of-the-iso
WOW! I had no idea. It’s dumbfounding to me how so many of these self described socialists are from money and have no idea how the average person would be made to live if they were to succeed in recreating America. Make no mistake, Fain would never turn down daddy’s money to practice what she preaches. I’ll add this to the pile of info I wish I didn’t know. It’s disturbing beyond what I care to articulate.
Some animals, you see, are more equal than others
Am waiting for her “outrage” for you outing her “personally private” private school choice.
I’m sure that “ racism “ will be revealed as the “ root cause “.