The IFT represents 103,000 teachers and PSRPs throughout Illinois, faculty and staff at community colleges and universities, public employees and retirees.
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Why wait for Nov. 3? Early voting opens today across Illinois. Pick the day that works for your schedule.
More voter information: ift-aft.org/vote
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96% YES. ✊
With nearly 1,300 ballots cast, @CCCTU_Local1600 have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. Their contracts expired July 15, and after months at the table, they're still far apart from management.
We stand with CCCTU: bit.ly/3TKmgmt
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Today is National Voter Registration Day! Your vote is your voice in the classroom and beyond so make sure you are registered. 🗳️
But, if life gets busy, remember: in Illinois you can register in-person right up to and even on Election Day, November 3.
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Hispanic Heritage Month begins today. IFT honors the generations of Hispanic and Latino workers who have shaped public education and the labor movement in Illinois. We recommit to fighting alongside our Hispanic and Latino members for equity in every school.
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75% of Illinois students are now in critically underfunded schools, up from 70% last year. That means crumbling buildings, larger classes, and fewer support services for kids who deserve better.
Has underfunding hit your classroom? Tell us in the comments. 👇
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"Name racism when we see it. Confront it. Address it head-on." — IFT President Stacy Davis Gates
Read the full statement: 🔗 in bio
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"This isn't tax policy. It is coercion." IFT President Stacy Davis Gates responds to Trump's proposal targeting the tax-exempt status of colleges with equity programs for students of color. Full statement at ift-aft.org.
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Illinois promised its kids a fair shot at a good education, no matter their zip code. Nearly 8 years later, that promise is still unfunded and schools are feeling it. Hear from an IFT member on what Evidence-Based Funding was supposed to do and how it's falling short.
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Congrats to Dr. Troy Swanson — IFT Executive Board member, now 2026 Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year. 🎉 His work defending human expertise in the classroom is paying off statewide.
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Welcome back to the classroom! 🍎 Level up your teaching this fall — save 25% on select Quest Center PD courses with code WELCOMEBACK25. Offer ends 9/1, so don't wait. Full catalog ➡️ bit.ly/4wPKHMQ
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$768 million. One settlement. A funding crisis lawmakers say they can't solve. IFT President Stacy Davis Gates says Illinois just found the answer — swipe to see her response, then read the full statement on ift-aft.org.
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This isn't just a Belleville story — it's happening in districts across Illinois. Our Exec VP breaks down the real cost of the state's broken funding promise.📚➡️ bit.ly/4bQRdeA
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Nearly 25,000 undocumented students in Illinois just lost access to in-state tuition and financial aid after a federal court ruling. IFT is demanding immediate action to protect college access.
➡️ bit.ly/4g61pkz
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Illinois students can't wait. We are urging state leaders to ACT NOW on school funding.
Full story: bit.ly/4wuudtt
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Did you know you can apply for a Vote By Mail Ballot? No excuse necessary. Apply today and skip the line on November 3rd. 🗳️
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A child entering kindergarten today will graduate from a high school that is still underfunded." — IFT President Stacy Davis Gates on today's EBF report, which shows Illinois losing ground on its legal duty to fund schools by 2027. 📘➡️ bit.ly/4q6iIqq
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Your property taxes were collected. They just never made it to the schools.
The Cook County Treasurer is holding ~$400M that's legally owed to school districts. CPS is borrowing $220,000 a day to cover the gap. We're suing.
📖 ➡️ bit.ly/3TohydE
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Summer break doesn't mean the fight stops. ✊
Earlier this summer, IFT members packed Springfield & delivered backpacks representing everything our students & schools go without when public education isn't fully funded — books, supplies, support staff, smaller class sizes.
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The ideals that this country was founded upon were a starting point. 250 years later, that work of realizing them is in all of our hands.
This Independence Day, as we honor the vision that started this country, we also recognize the full history of it.
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The future well-being of our neighbors, communities, and state depends on our ability to fund the pillars of our democracy: public education, public programs, and workers. And the path to that is sustainable revenue from taxing the ultra-wealthy and corporations.
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