Education
CPS Watchdog Defends Handling of Closed Investigation Into Board President Candidate Hilario Dominguez
Chicago Board of Education president candidate Hilario Dominguez appears during a WTTW News forum on Sept. 15 2026. (Genie Lemieux / WTTW)
Chicago Public School’s internal watchdog is defending his office’s decision to re-open, and then subsequently close, an investigation into misconduct allegations against Board of Education president candidate Hilario Dominguez weeks ahead of the historic election.
An attorney representing Dominguez’s accuser this week called for an independent investigation into the allegations and the manner in which CPS Inspector General Philip Wagenknecht’s office handled the case. On Thursday, 16 Chicago alderpersons signed an open letter demanding the same.
But Wagenknecht on Friday said the investigation was conducted pursuant to his office’s standard practices and procedures, and that “in no way was this investigation rushed or concluded prematurely.”
“The OIG is an apolitical office that serves as the independent watchdog for the Chicago Board of Education,” Wagenknecht said. “No one outside this office has influence over how OIG investigations are handled, and there were no external efforts to influence this matter.”
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 in the Nov. 3 election.
But he came under fire early this month after the Chicago Tribune reported that Wagenknecht’s office had reopened a past investigation into Dominguez’s alleged interactions with a minor high school student in 2017 while working at the Resurrection Project nonprofit.
The woman who made the allegations against Dominguez has remained anonymous but has spoken publicly about the investigation.
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.
Wagenknecht said he expects CPS to release his office’s report on the allegations, which he said will explain “the case and the OIG’s determination in detail.”
Dominguez has repeatedly denied those allegations, which he said we first brought forth during his unsuccessful aldermanic campaign in 2019.
On Wednesday, Dominguez released a letter from the CPS Office of Student Protections and Title IX, which stated that its investigation was concluded after there was “no actionable finding of sexual misconduct.”
He said this 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.
After the investigation was reopened, Mayor Brandon Johnson — himself a former teacher and CTU organizer who has expressed support for Dominguez — said that with the election approaching, Wagenknecht’s office had “an additional duty and responsibility to have those answers before the public with great urgency.”
In their letter, the Chicago alderpersons claimed the latest investigation was “tainted from the start” and that Wagenknecht’s office “rushed a finding to meet the deadline he publicly demanded” while “sending a devastating message to every girl weighing whether to report abuse.”
A spokesperson for Johnson on Friday denied any allegations of interference, saying they mayor's office never contacted the OIG during its investigation or “make any attempt to influence the investigation.”
“The Mayor’s Office respects and adheres to the independence of the OIG,” the spokesperson said.
Wagenknecht on Friday said the decision to close the case came only after “considering the evidence and, in particular, the information the OIG received from the alleged victim in September of this year,” adding that “the OIG determined that the evidence was not sufficient to find that Dominguez engaged in sexual misconduct.”
He also denied any outside influence on his office’s investigation.
“The OIG is statutorily independent from the operations of the Board,” Wagenknecht said, “and, in practice, has demonstrated robust independence through our numerous public corruption investigations over the years, several of which have involved high-level officials.”
WTTW News education reporting is supported, in part, by Press Forward Chicago.
