The controversial head of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Stacy Davis Gates, has been ranked more powerful than the city's own mayor.
Davis Gates, 49, was ranked the fifth-most-powerful person in the Windy City by Chicago Magazine, one spot above Mayor Brandon Johnson, whom she helped get elected.
She has served as CTU president since 2022 and was also elected head of the Illinois Federation of Teachers last year.
As head of CTU, she pumped millions of dollars into Johnson's 2023 campaign, and her new role with the statewide teachers' union gives her access to a political action committee with over $2 million on hand.
However, Chicago Magazine noted that 'as Johnson's clout has declined, so has Davis Gates's.'
Her union spent $2.8 million backing 10 candidates in the 2024 school board elections, but only won four seats. She also supported Johnson's corporate head tax that was rejected by the city council.
Davis Gates is no stranger to criticism, having been branded a hypocrite for sending her own son to private school after calling them 'segregation academies' and saying that school choice supporters are fascists.
One time, she refused to take questions from journalists after deeming herself 'not a public figure,' despite being the head of one of the largest political groups in the Windy City.
The magazine warned that even if Johnson loses the 2027 mayoral race or her own popularity decreases, she still has enough money and influence to remain a power player in Chicago.
'She's still powerful enough - and enough of a social media troll - to be a thorn in the side of any mayor whose agenda she opposes,' the magazine said.
The four people who ranked above her included Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, billionaire Richard Uihlein, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
In January, CTU was forced to delete a post urging the 'ultra-wealthy' to fully fund schools after it was mocked online for misspelling 'governor.'
The union circulated a flyer on social media, urging the public to pressure state leaders to tax billionaires to fund struggling public institutions.
It comes months after a report found the district is $1.6 billion short of necessary funding, according to Chicago Public Media.
The union's flyer went after Governor Pritzker, a multibillionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, demanding that the 'ultra-wealthy pay their fair share and fully fund our schools.'
But the irony that a spelling mistake appeared in a post shared by the state's own educators was quickly picked up by online users.
At the very top, the post declared, 'TELL GOVERNER PRITZKER' - a glaring typo that quickly became the subject of ridicule.
A damning report revealed that last year, over half of Chicago students couldn't read at grade level, and nearly three-quarters failed to reach math proficiency on state tests, according to the 2025 Illinois Report Card.
It also revealed widespread issues across Illinois: only 40 percent of 11th graders were proficient in reading, 25 percent in math, and just 43 percent of 3rd-8th graders were reading at grade level.
Even more troubling, the scores came after the state eased proficiency standards, and 40.1 percent of students still missed at least 10 percent of the school year.
The Washington Post even called out Davis Gates's union for focusing on social justice initiatives while reading and math proficiency rates continued to fall.
The editorial came after CTU posted its New Year's resolutions on X, pledging to 'speak truth to power' and defend Black, Brown and immigrant communities targeted by federal agents.
The post also added that the union is 'fighting back against an administration trying to dismantle the US Department of Education and roll back civil rights protections.'
In response, the Post wrote: 'Those are lofty goals in a school district that can hardly teach kids to read and write,' before highlighting the low proficiency rates in each grade.
One time, she refused to take questions from journalists after deeming herself 'not a public figure,' despite being the head of one of the largest political groups in the Windy City
'Those are fundamental deficits that haunt kids into high school,' the editorial added.
In the article, the editorial board argued that it was 'hard to believe the union has students' best interests at heart when its bosses continue to ignore the biggest problems.'
The Post also spotlighted Chicago's chronic absenteeism, noting that 'teachers are also playing hooky, with about 43 percent of educators missing 10 or more days of school compared to 34 percent statewide.'
'Davis Gates, who has a history of blowing off mandatory union audits and has described testing as 'junk science rooted in White supremacy,' is clearly allergic to accountability and excellence,' the outlet wrote.