Stacy Davis Gates was elected president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers Saturday, putting more than 100,000 teachers, college faculty and public employees from across the state represented by the union with her as she plans to demand more funding for schools and universities.

As has been the practice in the past, Davis Gates will continue leading her own local, the Chicago Teachers Union. Even as she has faced criticism for divisive rhetoric, she said the CTU has experience bringing together people who work in vastly different schools and uniting them around common purposes. She insists she can bring that energy to the state.

“We have to show people how to practice democracy, how to work across our differences, how to create solidarity based on our collective needs, and I don’t th

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