across Illinois are getting a new leader and it's a familiar face to educators in Chicago, Chicago Teachers, Union president Stacy Davis.

Gates has been unanimously elected president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers representing 103,000 members across the state.

And while it's not the first time the head of CTU has held the job of IFT leader at the same time, it has been a long time in decades.

Joining us now is the new president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Chicago Teachers, Union president Stacy Davis.

Gates, welcome back.

Congrats on this new position.

Thank you.

This is as we mentioned, it's the first time in 20 years that the CTU president has held both positions as president of I F T. And we know that you were previously executive vice president of the organization, Karen Lewis, several years ago, also served as executive vice president.

But why the separation 20 years ago?

Well, 20 years I think what the leadership of the Chicago teachers Union believed >> was that we could concentrate our time in Chicago, professionalize education.

>> And that their attention to the state wide.

>> Portions of that with take their attention away.

So they made that decision.

However, what we found lately, especially as it relates to funding for education.

Is that the Chicago teachers union has to the power to amplify what's going on all over the state right now.

There is a local in West Frankfort.

They're preparing for a strike.

Nearly 100% of their members say yes to a strike.

And they say yes to a strike because there are school clerks and teachers, assistants who are only working so they can pay for health insurance.

So the issues plaguing school districts Chicago in the Chicagoland area are the same ones playing school districts in the south.

>> So how do you see sort merging the 2 positions in balancing the priorities?

Because I think we all know that sometimes the priorities of an urban district like Chicago might be very different from some of the rural districts downstate.

We're in the process of figuring out what we unify on a practice solidarity with.

>> And so as I mentioned, the lack of revenue a few years back, the state of Illinois passed a bill into law that said that the minimum amount of money teachers could be paid in the state is $40,000.

And guess what?

School districts struggle to do that.

So when you hear that the state of Illinois owes the Chicago public Schools, 1.6, 6, 6 billion dollars, you should also hear that all of the school district's combined outside of Chicago, 3 billion dollars.

So we're in a deficit, quite frankly.

And manifests in different ways in the suburban areas.

You have property tax owners complaining because school districts are over-reliance on those receipts what you have the same conversation happening in the South too.

What we've said is that there's a way to pivot from that that Donald Trump just gave the largest tax break in the history of this country to billionaires.

We have billionaires and Chicago and in the state of Illinois.

What if the increment that they were given, which was taken from public education, the Department of Education has been dismantled.

So what if we put a tax on those people to be cool, what we've lost because of that big tax bill, you know, our young people won't even have snap benefits next month.

So children will be coming to school, hungry or then they are already.

And of course, that can be the case.

Both big district like Chicago lower income, rural poor districts as well.

>> You know, folks who don't follow education every day may not be familiar with IFT.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers and what you all actually do.

They may be much more familiar with what's at home CTU course.

Illinois Federation of Teachers is a state-wide umbrella organization for local unions.

Just like the Chicago Teachers Union.

We represent school, school teachers school clinicians paraprofessionals who Pre-K through 12.

They can teach 50 kids in a district or they can teach hundreds of thousands of kids in the district.

We also represents state workers.

We have workers in the attorney general's office.

Those people are doing God's work in this moment because they're helping to protect our democracy.

We also represent skews me higher education.

especially those workers at Eastern or Western just last week.

We suffered layoffs at both institutions are regional universities are really up under the gun because of the same funding issues that we're talking about as it relates to K 12.

And of course, when you talk about the funding as it relates to K 12, you talk about funding to reach adequacy.

So when you say Cpss, you know, still owed 1.6 billion dollars from the state.

You're from that that state funding formula that allocates those dollars, which we know the state is falling behind on and we don't even have an adequacy target, quite frankly, in higher education right now.

And adequacy is being met by students taking on the burden of debt and families taking on the burden of debt.

The state's contribution to public education, both K 12 and higher at has been abysmal.

If we will.

And we're going to have to come to some sort moment here in Illinois to find a and now we have to do it under the restrictions of the Trump administration.

We've heard repeatedly from from Governor Pritzker and his administration, of course, that the state is short on dollars.

They've got a budget deficit as well.

But in a separate statement, a different statement.

Illinois House Republican Leader Tony Macomb be said, quote, Stacy Davis, Gates is bad news for Illinois students.

States is a left-wing radical who runs local one with the corrupt political machine instead of a force for student achievement and educational excellence under her leadership, CTU, political spending has skyrocketed while educational outcomes of Chicago.

Public schools have deteriorated.

We cannot allow Gates to export her far left Chicago agenda to suburban and downstate school districts.

Tough words from the minority leader in the House there, the Republican leader in the House.

What do you say to those who are concerned about the increased amount I guess, power or influence by sea to you?

Well, I think that the teachers, educators, state workers of the Illinois Federation of Teachers elected me unanimously this past weekend.

I think that the state of Illinois needs leadership in this moment to create united front just today, a 16 year-old American born student at one of our high schools here in the Chicago Public Schools was detained.

Detained by we have bigger fish to fry.

We have to keep young people safe.

This young man was on his way to school.

What does this say when 16 year-old boys are detained on their way to school for being an American?

So I would challenge every elected leader in the state of Illinois to rally around the flag because the president of the United States has declared all of us enemies.

To that point, you know, we're talking about ICE raids ramping up in the city.

Federal agents arresting people today in Pilsen little village yesterday.

And I think there's tear gas thrown today in the past.

Ctu has pushed for remote learning for CPS in order to protect those students and their parents.

The district has rebuffed that notion.

Are you continuing to push for it?

I'm continuing to push for that and everything that can help a family in this moment at least some idoc home of their everyday regular life.

Schools are some of the safest spaces in our city right now and all over this country as they should be.

And it is a fact that ice is harassing and detaining or young people as they are on their way to school.

So we have to figure out a better safe passage, which is why my members are applauding.

Mayor Johnson in this moment because he a surplus the billion dollars to schools to libraries and to parks.

And those are places that all of our young people safe spaces.

And so in this moment, we're safe passage is being challenged.

I would say, again, all of us have one thing to do.

And that is to protect our young people.

And we get to do that because grown-ups get to figure out how to work together to make ends meet.

So young people have what they need.

Also speculation about whether you've got your eye on the position of president of American Federation of Teachers somewhere down the road.

Randi Weingarten currently holds that position.

What do you think?

>> I think there, Randi Weingarten is that teacher in charge of our union that we need, Randi, is teaching all of America had a fife ashes.

As you know, she's a New York Times bestseller.

>> And as you know, they she's the right type of person to unite all corners of our country right now.

Look, I'm not looking for less leadership.

I'm looking for more leadership and I'm looking for both wise and bold leadership in this moment.

The only way we get through this leaders step up and we don't need us and then we need more.

Federation of Teachers and Chicago Teachers, Union president leader Stacey Davis.