Chicago Teachers Union Outsources Social Media Advertising to a company in Philadephia
Substance News is looking at campaign disclosure documents and has found that Union leadership is paying for social media advertising for Brandon Johnson and his Mayoral campaign with a Pennsylvania media company.
$11,250.00 was paid to Richard Media Advertising company on 512 Fairmount Ave in Philadelphia. Money that does not have to be repaid by Brandon Johnson.
It was a gift.
The unchecked spending raises many questions about transparency and the need to outsource local advertising to an out-of-state company.
Modern-day branding and advertising was invented in Chicago, where trillions have been made from ad campaigns. So, it is hard to believe that a company out of Philly knows social media advertising better than a hometown agency.
It is even harder to believe that with all those teachers in the Union fresh out of college, none know how to control social media.
The philosophy of the Union is rank-and-file-driven decisions.
Yet, the current leadership doesn't trust their own members to have an organic social media campaign to support a fellow member running for Mayor.
When preparing for the 2012 strike, we created a spending plan and internal programming to get out information to the membership.
And then, we had the membership vote on those plans for transparency.
Bet that not one union member in the schools knows these dollar amounts and the dates they were spent.
We are a membership union.
We should not be outsourcing media services.
We are not a piggy bank for some corrupt ideology.
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Original Investigation Public Corruption
Payee - Chicago Teachers Union - PAC
1901 West Carroll, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60612
Vendor - Richard Media Company 512 Fairmount Ave Philadelphia, PA 19123
Description: Advertising - social media
10/14/2022 - $11,250.00
The Chicago Teachers Union leadership spent its union funds to outsource social media advertising to a Philadelphia company www.elections.il.gov
Friends of Brandon Johnson Itemized In-Kind Contributions (10/1/2022 to 12/31/2022) Meaning that the union spent its union funds to outsource social media advertising to a Philadelphia company https://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ItemizedContributions.aspx?FiledDocID=ek1ZfhQ7xEARlpKGK70M1w%3d%3d&ContributionType=z%2fHZoOF2TuyDUclD%2fEKdETeKVAnydjleQuoZppoYZEJVSt4i9E8fQe2HNTijFOZa
Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $1,327,877.91
Transfers In: a. Itemized $1,793,100.00 (10/1/2022 to 12/31/2022)
Friends of Brandon Johnson D-2 Quarterly Report
10/1/2022 to 12/31/2022
https://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/D2Quarterly.aspx?id=ek1ZfhQ7xEARlpKGK70M1w%3d%3d
