|
The Liberty Justice Center said CTU hasn’t met its obligation to
publish an audit report for its members since it published an
audit only covering the first half of 2019.
“CTU members deserve to know where their money is going. After
four years of silence, it’s time for transparency,” plaintiff
Phillip Weiss said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
Attorney Dean McGee said at first they approached the union with
a demand letter to voluntarily publish audits of how the group
spent its members’ dues. The union then requested the names of
those bringing the demand to ensure they are union members.
“But what it appeared to be was a ruse to start engaging with
intimidation tactics against our clients,” McGee told The Center
Square Thursday.
The audits were never released and the lawsuit was filed
Wednesday.
Weiss, who is a school social worker and member of CTU, is also
running for reelection to be a trustee on the union’s pension
fund. He said union leaders recently singled him out during a
“meet the candidates meeting” with other union members ahead of
union elections.
“Before I was able to give my opening remarks, they put up a
copy of the demand letter and described me as ‘the right wing’
and essentially the danger to the union,” Weiss told The Center
Square. “It was in front of the entire delegate body, she
humiliated me.”
McGee said politics has nothing to do with his clients’ case.
“They don’t know my politics and I don’t know theirs,” McGee
said. “They have just stressed the importance as members of
getting accountability.”
As a trustee on the pension fund, Weiss said he sees a lot of
inconsistent money issues.
“I consistently ask for the audits and they give me the
runaround and they lie and then when you press them they smear
and defame you,” Weiss said. “So it’s just a red flag to me that
there’s something there that’s seriously wrong.”
The lawsuit filed Tuesday is pending in the Circuit Court of
Cook County. |
|
