In the heart of Chicago, one Black woman has emerged as a powerhouse in the American labor movement: Stacy Davis Gates, President of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and leader of the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). At a time when public education, health care, and resources feel under siege, Davis Gates has positioned herself at the intersection of activism, advocacy, and community leadership — standing up to President Donald Trump’s political attacks by defending families and public education.
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A steadfast advocate for Chicagoans, the union boss has her eyes set on the prosperity of Black residents in her city by any means necessary, leading a fearless charge against militarized operations including ICE and the National Guard — deployed under Trump’s direction. And since Chicago’s been targeted by the administration, Davis Gates hasn’t flinched in the face of terror.
Trump Declares War on Chicago
As part of “Operation Midway Blitz” launched in September 2025, the Department of Homeland Security sent ICE and Border Patrol agents into Chicago, ramping up immigration enforcement across the city. Under Davis Gates’ leadership, the Chicago Teachers Union has taken an active role in protecting its communities — organizing “Know Your Rights” training, having teachers and paraprofessionals escort students home, and building mutual aid networks to help families push back against these targeted crackdowns.
“A Black Hawk helicopter landed on top of a building in a historically Black neighborhood. Black children were taken out of their apartments and they were zip tied [with] hands behind their backs. And people were sorted in a line of black people and brown people. And they were detained,” Davis Gates detailed.
“Our teachers understand very clearly the impact on all Chicagoans, and have made it their mission to be educators, protectors, and advocates — making sure they are organizing the community to take care of our young people… and our union is helping to lead those efforts in partnership with other groups around the city,” she added.
Taxing the Rich
Davis Gates said the idea that Black people can continue to take the losses in support, public services and education is “deeply problematic,” insisting that these measures are being accelerated by the Trump regime. Residents are watching as the president hands out tax breaks to billionaires while pulling funds from public programs. And while “Tax the Rich” is often a rallying cry among White progressives, in Chicago, it’s overwhelmingly a Black issue.
“He’s giving billionaires tax breaks. And those tax breaks come at the expense of those who need neighborhood schools to work,” Davis Gates said, further emphasizing those most vulnerable.
“Black boys are overrepresented in special education, so when you marginalize the Department of Education you marginalize two things that we need,” she detailed. “The civil rights department that checks on districts that disproportionately suspend black boys…and that which helps to enforce and protect laws that govern how we educate special education students.”
Chicagoans’ Attitudes Towards Raising Revenue and Austerity
According to Davis Gates, funding is more important than ever, and she’s got the entire community to back her up. According to the “Chicagoans Attitudes Towards Raising Revenue and Austerity” poll conducted by the CTU in October, residents overwhelmingly support new revenue measures over budget cuts — a clear sign that Chicagoans are aligned with Davis Gates’ call to invest, not slash.
Key takeaways include:
- 70% of voters believe that public education in Chicago is receiving too little funding.
- When given a choice, voters overwhelmingly prefer increasing taxes on the wealthy over funding cuts.
- 90% of Black and Latino registered voters favor tax increases on big business.
- Elected officials would benefit from supporting these revenue measures and increasing funding for critical services — particularly Pritzker and Johnson.
“90% of black Chicagoans believe that we should tax the rich to fund valuable public services like our libraries, our schools, violence prevention programs, and summer jobs for Black youth,” Davis Gates explained. “These are the things that Black Chicagoans are saying you can tax the rich for.”
The Way Forward
Raising three Black children on the South Side of Chicago alongside her husband, the union boss has revealed she’s been swamped with attacks from death threats to hate mail, but her mission remains clear.
“It is both okay to protect our young people from ICE, to challenge Trump, and to tax the rich to make sure that people have what they need. We have a Black student success plan that we pushed for at the union to repair the harm that was done to Black children over generations,” Davis Gates explained. “Taxing the rich is the way to do that, because working people — Black people — have already done their fair share.”
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