Education
Board President Candidate Hilario Dominguez Says CPS Watchdog Closed Investigation Into Inappropriate Behavior Allegations, Found No Wrongdoing
Chicago Board of Education president candidate Hilario Dominguez appears during a WTTW News forum on Sept. 15 2026. (Genie Lemieux / WTTW)
Chicago Public Schools’ internal watchdog has cleared school board president candidate Hilario Dominguez of any wrongdoing following an investigation into nearly decade-old allegations that he acted inappropriately with a high schooler, his campaign says.
Dominguez posted a copy of a confidential filing from the the CPS Office of Student Protections and Title IX, which states that its investigation is concluded after there was “no actionable finding of sexual misconduct” and that “the matter is closed.”
CPS Inspector General Philip Wagenknecht did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon and the office has not yet posted the filing.
“Now we can continue with the debates on the issues in our schools that voters deeply care about,” Dominguez said in a statement Wednesday.
Dominguez — the former deputy political director for the Chicago Teachers Union — is one of three candidates running to become the Chicago Board of Education’s first-ever elected president.
News of the inspector general reopening its investigation into allegations that Dominguez engaged in inappropriate language and behavior with a student was first reported earlier this month by the Chicago Tribune — just weeks ahead of the election.
The woman who made the allegations against Dominguez has remained anonymous but has spoken publicly with both the Chicago Tribune and NBC 5 Chicago.
In those interviews, she said her allegations stem from 2017, when she was 17 years old and participating in the Resurrection Project’s summer program where Dominguez was working as a coordinator.
She claimed that on one occasion, Dominguez was driving her to an event when he began asking her, “what kind of guys are you into,” according to her interviews. In a second incident, Dominguez approached her at the Resurrection Project’s office and allegedly grabbed her by the waist, picking her up off the ground and pressing the girl’s entire body up against him, she said.
Dominguez previously said he already “confronted these rumors” in 2019 by his then-opponent Aida Flores while running to become alderperson of Chicago’s 25th Ward.
Dominguez said his superiors never “reprimanded, disciplined or talked to” him about his behavior while at the Resurrection Project, and that the nonprofit already investigated and determined the allegations to be unfounded.
In his statement Wednesday, Dominguez said the OIG’s announcement marks the fourth time he has been cleared of the same allegations following a previous inquiry by the OIG, the Resurrection Project’s investigation, a community accountability process and now the latest OIG finding.
“Voters who weren’t aware of the decade-old smear the Aida Flores campaign spread when I ran for alderman in 2019 deserved an answer to them being brought back this year,” Dominguez said. “The OIG has given it to them.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson — a former teacher and CTU organizer — has expressed his support for Dominguez and called on the OIG to quickly resolve its investigation ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Dominguez’s attorney Rima Kapitan on Wednesday said her client “demonstrated integrity and once again cooperated with investigations into weaponized claims and once again was fully cleared of any wrong doing.”
“While my client will be reviewing and pursuing every legal remedy for the reckless and defamatory statements made against him,” Kapitan said in a statement, “we are confident that Chicago voters will welcome returning the focus to his vision for CPS and how the candidates in this election can affect the future of this city.”
WTTW News education reporting is supported, in part, by Press Forward Chicago.
