A state teacher’s union is putting some well-known conservative think-tanks, politicians, and lawyer on blast for what they believe is an open attack on public education in Illinois.
A video posted by the Illinois Education Association accuses anti-union groups of using dark money to create division in the state and to attack public schools.
The approximately 7-minute video posted to their Facebook Page goes after former Illinois governor Bruce Rauner, the well-known conservative donors the Koch Brothers, and the Illinois Policy Institute saying they are using “dark money” to “diminish their [IEA’s] collective voice” as a union.
The video also mentions Attorney Thomas DeVore, who is suing 145 school districts, including Jacksonville School District 117, over Governor J.B. Pritzker’s school mask mandate.
IEA says in the video that the lawsuit is a fundraising scheme for DeVore to raise money to campaign for a seat on the Fifth District Appellate Court in 2022. DeVore has at least two other Republicans he will be against in that primary next year.
You can watch the video attached to this link. The Jacksonville Education Association is a member of IEA.