Did the Chicago Teachers Union work with Sterling Bay to Hide an 8,500,000 Dollar Real Estate Deal to Avoid paying taxes? It certainly looks that way!
CTU collaborated with Sterling Bay to avoid paying real estate transfer taxes on an 8.5 million dollar sale of 1901 W. Carroll the CTU Headquarters Building
$10 - Warranty Deed Dec 12, 2014 - 1901 W. 1901 W. Carroll
https://crs.cookcountyclerkil.gov/DocumentWe are reporting what we believe is a coordinated effort to evade paying taxes on a multi-million-dollar real estate transaction between the leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union and the development company Sterling Bay.
Warranty Deed Document Number 1500701004 shows Sterling Bay sold the property at 1901 West Carroll for $10 to the Chicago Teachers Union on December 12, 2014. That is the same property the Chicago Teachers Union leadership, the media, and documents show sold for 8.5 million dollars.
The special warranty deed indicates that CTU and Sterling Bay paid No City, No County, and No State Taxes on the sale of 1901 West Carrol, the headquarters of the Chicago Teachers Union.
We are talking about a three-story building on an entire city block in one of the fastest gentrifying areas of the city, sold for less than a Chick-fil-A sandwich meal.
The same tax that Brandon Johnson is proposing to increase is the one that the CTU helped Sterling Bay not to pay; the tax will raise $100 million by bumping up the transfer tax exclusively on high-value properties, it says on his campaign website.
In another document on the recorder of deeds page dated October 1, 2014, there is a mortgage document stating that $10,000,000 was borrowed against the property.
Did the price drop to $10 in two years?
And why would CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey make public statements about purchasing the building at Damen and Carroll for 8.5 million dollars?
In a Trulia Real estate page, Sterling Bay's purchase price for 1901 Carroll was 4.5 million two years earlier in December 2013, confirmed by Cook County Clerks Document 1333855005.
We are not tax specialists, but we found another deed for the same property on December 4, 2013, stating that Sterling Bay purchased the property for $10. (Document: 1333855003)
A property that got a mortgage for 10 million and was then purchased for eight and a half million is only worth 10 bucks on official paperwork.
This is some fraudulent shit if I have ever seen any.
Consorting with the Enemy
The interesting twist to this tax-dodging story is that Sterling Bay is supposed to be the Union's archenemy as the evil capitalist developer milking taxpayers dry. The CTU accused Sterling Bay of diverting tax funds into their own pockets in an October 29, 2019 letter.
First, why are you giving Sterling Bay money for anything and, worse, helping them avoid paying transfer and sales taxes on a multi-million-dollar real estate deal?
And who knows, this might be a case of hiding capital gains or real estate income, also.
Consorting with the enemy to defraud the City, County, State, and possibly the Federal government of taxes on a multi-million-dollar real estate deal is something we only see in mob movies.
Yet, the documents don't tell any lies.
Legal or not, this shows the depravity of the CTU leadership in how they conduct business by lying to the Chicago Teachers Union's membership and the Chicago taxpayers.
Chicago Teachers Union is defunding Chicago Taxpayers by helping Sterling Bay cheat on transfer taxes.
The same Sterling Bay that the Union says is not paying its fair share of taxes to pay for schools:
"We are targeting Lincoln Yards because it's being funded in part by TIF money that should be going to our schools," CTU said in a statement.
Nine Chicago Teachers Union protesters were arrested … during a CTU sit-in at the developer's building. Teachers earlier in the day protested at the site of Sterling Bay's unbuilt megaproject Lincoln Yards, arguing tax increment financing dollars being spent for the project should go to education. (Block Club Chicago, October 29, 2019)
The unions were unafraid to target capitalist enemies by name, in this case the real-estate developers and their massive city subsidies. Like the six DSA members who now sit on the city council (and denounced the mayor in a Chicago Sun-Times op-ed), the teachers drew connections between austerity in schools and the lavish grants bestowed on developers with little discussion or debate. On consecutive days, the unions converged at the planned sites for Lincoln Yards and the 78, two luxury residential developments due to receive $2 billion in public money. It feels odd to see protestors convening at what are mostly vacant lots and abandoned buildings, but it's a reminder that the city has repeatedly placed the prospective future of the wealthy above the present needs of its most marginalized residents.
Following the Lincoln Yards rally, the CTU protested outside the offices of its developer, Sterling Bay. Chicago police arrested nine union members. Activists have alleged that Sterling Bay gamed the definitions of "blight" in order to secure its mammoth funding, and Lincoln Yards was a top priority for Emanuel that Lightfoot seems intent on protecting. By calling out real-estate developers and the government that serves them, the CTU is driving the debate over affordable housing and how the city spends its money. (Jacobin, November 1, 2019)
The CTU is helping Sterling Bay game the system against the taxpayers that pay their salaries.
They are gaming the system against the parents who trust them, to be honest.
They are gaming the system not to pay their fair share.
We would contact CTU for comment, but this reporter has been threatened with legal action if any CTU staff are contacted.
Hence, we publish our investigative findings hoping for public clarification or comment from the CTU Leadership.
Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me.
Sources for Report
$10 - Warranty Deed Dec 12, 2014 - 1901 W. Carroll - Document: 1500701004
$10,000,000 Mortgage - October 1, 2014 - 1901 W. Carroll - Document: 1427416064
$4,500,000 - Special Warranty Deed Nov 14, 2013 - 1901 W. Carroll - Document: 1333855005
Property Details 17-07-404-011-0000 1901 W CARROLL AVE CHICAGO, IL West Chicago PIN Details Cook County Assessor's Office
https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/pin/17074040110000
CTU sells building but where did the $50M go? by Lourdes Duarte Posted: Apr 30, 2015 / 09:31 PM CDT Updated: Apr 30, 2015 / 09:31 PM CDT https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-investigates/ctu-sells-building-but-where-did-the-50m-go/
Trulia Listing 1901 W Carroll Ave Chicago, IL 60612 West Town
https://www.trulia.com/p/il/chicago/1901-w-carroll-ave-chicago-il-60612--2448473991
Chicago Teachers Union makes it official, announces it will be getting a new home in the heart of the city's West Side George N. Schmidt - May 24, 2014 http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=4997
Protesters Arrested During CTU Demonstration at Sterling Bay Published October 29, 2019 • Updated on October 29, 2019 at 5:14 pm https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/ctu-protesters-arrested-during-demonstration-at-sterling-bay/2056281/
Sterling Bay disagrees with you. #lincolnyards #TIF #brokeonpurpose #faircontractnow Chicago Teachers Union @CTULocal1 8:37 AM · Oct 23, 2019
https://twitter.com/CTULocal1/status/1187000172640903168?s=20
9 Teachers Arrested Outside Sterling Bay’s West Loop Office The arrests came during a sit-in at Sterling Bay's West Loop headquarters by Block Club Chicago Staff 3:05 PM CDT on Oct 29, 2019
Chicago Teachers Show Again How to Fight and Win By Devin Schiff 11.01.2019 https://jacobin.com/2019/11/chicago-teachers-show-again-how-to-fight-and-win
Nine CTU members due in court for arrests at Sterling Bay/Lincoln Yards strike action By CTU Communications | November 27, 2019 https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/nine-ctu-members-due-in-court-for-arrests-at-sterling-bay-lincoln-yards-strike-action/
Sterling Bay executives refused accept a letter calling on the developer to renegotiate the TIF deal the company made with the City. https://www.ctulocal1.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/10-29-19-letter-to-Sterling-Bay-CEO.pdf
Brandon Johnson Plan to Stop Property Taxes
https://www.brandonforchicago.com/issues/city-budget-and-revenue
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION FOUNDATION INC CHICAGO, IL 60612-2401 | Tax-exempt since July 1970 Full text of "Full Filing" for fiscal year ending June 2016
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237076885/201711329349305841/full
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION FOUNDATION INC CHICAGO, IL 60612-2401 | Tax-exempt since July 1970 Form 990-O for period ending June 2015 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/237076885/2016_08_EO%2F23-7076885_990O_201506
CHICAGO FEDERATION TEACHERS UNION CHICAGO, IL 60612-2401 | Tax-exempt since Aug. 1967 Form 990-O for period ending June 2015 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/360906695/2016_08_EO%2F36-0906695_990O_201506
CHICAGO FEDERATION TEACHERS UNION CHICAGO, IL 60612-2401 | Tax-exempt since Aug. 1967 Full text of "Full Filing" for fiscal year ending June 2016
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/360906695/201731359349303373/full
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION FOUNDATION INC CHICAGO, IL 60612-2401 | Tax-exempt since July 1970 EIN: 23-7076885 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237076885
CHILDREN & TEACHERS FOUNDATION OF THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION CHICAGO, IL 60612-2401 | Tax-exempt since April 2015 EIN: 46-5340132 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/465340132
CHICAGO FEDERATION TEACHERS UNION CHICAGO, IL 60612-2401 | Tax-exempt since Aug. 1967 EIN: 36-0906695 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/360906695
CTU collaborated with Sterling Bay to avoid paying real estate transfer taxes on an 8.5 million dollar sale of 1901 W. Carroll the CTU Headquarters Building
$10 - Warranty Deed Dec 12, 2014 - 1901 W. 1901 W. Carroll
https://crs.cookcountyclerkil.gov/Document
