West Cook News

Illinois State Senate District candidate Jon Luers commented on a pledge from the Illinois Policy Institute, stating, "Thank you to the Illinois Policy Institute for sponsoring this effort to highlight the corrosive influence of the CTU on Chicago and Illinois education." He made this statement in an August 3 Facebook post.

"Thank you to the Illinois Policy Institute for sponsoring this effort to highlight the corrosive influence of the CTU on Chicago and Illinois education," said Luers, according to Facebook. "As the Republican opponent of Rob Martwick, the biggest legislative recipient of CTU donations over the last 14 years, I am strongly opposed to their self-serving agenda to eliminate school choice for families and dictate school policies and beyond for the city and state. I'm happy to sign this pledge not to accept any funding from the Chicago Teachers' Union."

In his Facebook post, Luers shared a picture of a document that focused on the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and their role in funding politics. The document read in part: "Whereas, just 17 cents of every dollar spent by CTU in 2023 was on representing teachers, the rest of the money flowing to other union leadership priorities such as administrative overhead and politics, with CTU being the single largest spender on Chicago politics in 2022-2023; and whereas, under CTU influence, CPS is operating at a $391 million operational deficit in 2025, will face a projected $700 million deficit in 2026, and will draw resources away from the other 851 school districts across Illinois; Therefore, I PLEDGE as a state lawmaker committed to ensuring all Illinois students have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for a brighter future, regardless of their background or circumstances, I support the following principles: empowering parents, supporting educators, and rejecting funding from the Chicago Teachers Union."

Screenshot of Jon Luers for IL 10th Senate District Aug. 3 Facebook post | Jon Luers for IL Senate Facebook page

Luers' declaration comes as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has made demands that the state fund CPS to the tune of $1.1 billion. Johnson says this amount is what the school district is actually underfunded annually by the state.

According to Illinois Policy Institute (IPI), CPS used $2.8 billion in federal funds from COVID relief. Much of it was spent on 9,000 new positions and a central office staff increase of 60%. These are one-time costs. The 2024-2025 budget adds 800 new employees (500 of them teachers), and according to IPI, it’s the teachers’ contract that will put the school district in debt.

Jonathon Luers is a Chicago native. He is a software engineer with four decades of experience and holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University.