Chicago Teachers Union president used ‘unlawful deduction’ on home in Indiana for over a decade and lied on CPS hiring documents
Stacy Davis Gates loses undeserved property tax break, owes Indiana $1,533
by Jess Plowman
November 13, 2023
An Indiana county will seek back taxes and penalties of $1,533 after Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates claimed a property tax deduction reserved for owner occupants. Davis Gates has claimed Chicago property taxpayers aren’t all paying their fair share.
Stacy Davis Gates will be asked to pay back a property tax deduction plus penalties totaling $1,533 on a house she owns but did not occupy in South Bend, Ind., according to the local St. Joseph County auditor’s office.
The Chicago Teachers Union president lives in Chicago with her husband and three children. Her personal income is more than $289,000 a year and she has repeatedly called for the rich to pay their fair share when it comes to taxes. Her union also led the charge against the Invest in Kids scholarship program, claiming it takes taxes away from public school funding, although she sends her son to a private school.
The Illinois Policy Institute was the first to report Davis Gates was claiming the homestead exemption for a house she’s owned since 2006 in South Bend, Ind., despite signing a Chicago residency pledge in 2004. The pledge was made two years before she purchased the Indiana house.
Even though the exemption was taken for earlier years, Indiana law only allows the county auditor to seek a maximum of three years of back taxes. Taxes owed from 2020 total nearly $1,400 and a 10% civil penalty takes the money she owes St. Joseph County to $1,533 due by Dec. 8.
The county auditor canceled Davis Gates’ homestead exemption on the South Bend house. The exemption is only for people who own and reside in the house.
Property taxes are the primary source of funding for public schools. Taking a homestead deduction in a state in which she doesn’t reside and depriving that state of taxes used for its schools is hypocritical, given Davis Gates and CTU’s ongoing mission to make the wealthy pay their “fair share.”
The same can be said of Davis Gates sending her own son to a parochial school where she said his academic and athletic options are superior, yet killing that option for low-income families.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch refused to call a bill before adjournment Nov. 9 to extend the Invest in Kids program that allowed disadvantaged families a private-school option. Gov. J.B. Pritzker refused to push for the program, making Illinois the only state to ever roll back school choice for its children. Teachers unions and CTU pushed hard to kill the program.
Public records show several discrepancies involving Davis Gates and her residency.
In 2004, Davis Gates signed a “Sworn Residency Statement” with Chicago Public Schools, indicating she resided within the City of Chicago. Two years later she bought the Indiana house and and until recently was taxed as if she lived there.
In 2014, Davis Gates registered to vote in Illinois, providing the South Bend address as her former registration address. She provided a Chicago address as her residence address.
Then in 2016, she was issued a traffic violation by the Chicago Police Department, with the court record showing she had an Indiana driver’s license at the time. That was about 12 years after she swore she lived in Chicago.
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CTU boss fined, billed for back taxes
by: Andrew Schroedter
WGN Investigates
Posted: Nov 14, 2023 / 11:45 AM CST
Updated: Nov 14, 2023 / 07:10 PM CST
County officials in Indiana wasted no time billing Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates after determining she received an “unlawful deduction” on a home she owns in South Bend.
The St. Joseph County auditor has now sent the union leader a letter assessing her $1,393 for three years’ worth of back taxes, the maximum allowable by law, plus a $139 penalty.
WGN Investigates reported Stacy Davis Gates filed paperwork affirming the South Bend home was her primary residence in 2007 and seeking a homestead tax exemption. It was granted and remained in effect for the past 16 years, until reporters raised the issue in early November.
Davis Gates is from South Bend and it appears her relatives live in the home.
Davis Gates, through a union spokesperson, declined to comment on initial reports about the tax scheme. A CTU spokesperson did not immediately respond to a new request for comment on the bill for back taxes and whether she will appeal it.
It comes as the Chicago Teachers Union and its allies lobby for an increase in the real estate transfer tax for million dollar homes in Chicago.
WGN Investigates previously reported the Illinois Secretary of State’s office said Stacy Davis Gates didn’t seek a driver’s license until December 2021, as her public profile and union leadership roles increased.
This is the second time in recent months that Stacy Davis Gates has made headlines. She’s not an elected leader but occupies a unique place in city leadership since union money was key to electing fellow CTU leader Brandon Johnson as mayor.
Two months ago, it was revealed that her son didn’t attend public school but a private Catholic high school even though her union successfully blocked efforts to renew a program that provides tax credits for people who donate to scholarships programs that help low-income students attend private schools.
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Chicago Teachers Union president used ‘unlawful deduction’ on home in Indiana for over a decade … CTU president Stacey Davis Gates previously defended sending her son to private school after being accused of hypocrisy
By Joshua Q. Nelson Fox News
Published November 14, 2023 8:06pm EST
Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacey Davis Gates was billed Wednesday for back taxes due to an “unlawful deduction” she took on a home in Indiana.
A St. Joseph County auditor sent Davis Gates a letter showing she owed $1,393 in back taxes “for each year an unlawful deduction was claimed” as well as a $139 civil penalty for a home she owns in South Bend, Indiana. The amount Davis Gates was billed is the maximum allowed by law.
According to local news outlet WGN, Davis Gates, a South Bend native, filed paperwork claiming the Indiana home as her primary residence in 2007 while she was a Chicago Public Schools teacher. She also applied for a homestead tax exemption for the home, and it was granted and has been active since then.
A St. Joseph County auditor reportedly sent Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates a letter showing she owes $1,393 in back taxes as well as a $139 penalty for a home she owns in South Bend, Indiana.
She reportedly claimed the South Bend house as her principal place of residence while owning a home in Chicago, where neither she nor her husband sought a homeowner’s exemption.
The homestead tax deduction is granted to people who own and occupy a home as their principal place of residency. There are civil penalties for failing to notify the auditor of a change in use of the property.
It appears that she does not currently live in the home and that it is occupied by her relatives, according to WGN.
Davis Gates would pay four times more in Indiana property taxes if she didn’t take the homestead deduction,” the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI), which also investigated the matter, reported.
IPI reported that Davis Gates listed the South Bend home as her former address when she registered to vote in Illinois in 2014.Furthermore, WGN Investigates previously reported the Illinois Secretary of State’s office said Davis Gates applied for a driver’s license in December 2021, the same time that she ascended the ranks of the Chicago union.
Neither Davis Gates nor the CTU immediately responded for comment on whether she will pay the bill or appeal it.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates would pay four times more in Indiana property taxes if she didn’t take the homestead deduction, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.
The billing from Indiana officials comes after another controversy where she defended sending her son to private school, despite her past rhetoric of denouncing school choice as racist.
Davis Gates, who was elected president of CTU in 2022, also serves as executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
Sources for Report
Stacy Davis Gates loses undeserved property tax break, owes Indiana $1,533
By Jess Plowman November 13, 2023
https://illinoispolicy.org/stacy-davis-gates-loses-undeserved-property-tax-break-owes-indiana-1533/
CTU boss fined, billed for back taxes by: Andrew Schroedter Posted: Nov 14, 2023 / 11:45 AM CST
Updated: Nov 14, 2023 / 07:10 PM CST
https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-investigates/ctu-boss-fined-billed-for-back-taxes/
Chicago Teachers Union president used ‘unlawful deduction’ on home in Indiana for over a decade By Joshua Q. Nelson Fox News
Published November 14, 2023 8:06pm EST
https://foxnews.com/media/chicago-teachers-union-president-used-unlawful-deduction-home-indiana
