Education
Chicago’s School Board Election Is Coming This Fall — Here’s How It Will Work
For decades, Chicago’s Board of Education has been the only one in Illinois handpicked by the city’s mayor. And for just as long, education advocates have called for that board to be an elected body, representative of Chicago’s diverse residents.
This fall, those advocates will get their wish.
In November, for the first time ever, Chicagoans will vote on all 21 members of the city’s school board, as the board transitions from a partially-elected, partially-appointed board into a fully elected body.
But what does this change mean for the nation’s fourth-largest school district, its families and the board itself? We’ll explain it all here.
What do board members actually do?
The board has wide power over Chicago Public Schools, from selecting high-level officials and guiding the district’s overall direction and goals, to signing off on day-to-day decisions that affect every student, teacher and family.
Board members must OK the district’s multi-billion dollar annual operating budget, they approve the academic calendar — deciding when students are in and out of the classroom — and they control major policy decisions like the removal of police officers from school buildings.
They’re also in charge of selecting who runs CPS.
A previous version of the board in late 2024 voted to fire then-CEO Pedro Martinez. Earlier this month, the current board approved his replacement, new CEO Macquline King.
Being a member requires a “massive time commitment,” according to a board statement, of more than 25-30 hours per month. And in return, they receive no financial compensation.
How did we get here?
Chicago had been the only city in Illinois without an elected school board, and education advocates fought for years to eliminate mayoral control and bring Chicago’s board in line with the rest of the state.
With that goal in mind, numerous bills were introduced before the state legislature over the years, only for them to repeatedly fall short often due to concerns over the size of the board, the timeline for implementation and the potential of politicizing the board.
Advocates instead argued they were being denied their democratic right to vote, and they began making more headway in 2021, when legislation was finally passed through both the state House and Senate before making its way to the desk of Gov. JB Pritzker.
That bill outlined the current transition process for moving from a fully appointed board, to a temporary hybrid board, before eventually moving to a fully elected board this fall.
Even so, not everyone was on board. Lori Lightfoot, who campaigned in 2019 on bringing an elected school board to Chicago, criticized that bill and instead pushed for a permanent hybrid board.
But Pritzker did sign the bill into law over Lightfoot’s objections, saying at the time a fully elected board would help students and their families “have a strong voice in important decisions about the education system in Chicago.”
What is changing this year?
The CPS Board had been under mayoral control for nearly three decades, dating back to 1995 when Mayor Richard M. Daley did away with a nominating committee that had compiled lists of candidates from which he could select new members.
From that point on, board selections were the sole discretion of the city’s mayor. Until 2024.
That’s when 2021 state legislation went into effect that brought about Chicago’s first-ever school board elections. The previously seven-member board tripled in size up to 21 members, 10 of whom were chosen by Chicagoans during the 2024 general election.
But the other 11, including the board president, were still appointed by the mayor, giving them a slight majority over their elected counterparts.
However, the state legislation didn’t stop there, requiring that by 2027, all 21 board members must be elected by city residents. That brings us to this fall.
How will the elections this fall play out?
In 2024, Chicago was divided into 10 separate districts. Each of those 10 districts was then broken up into two halves — a and b. Currently, each district is represented by one elected and one appointed board member who must live in that area.
This fall, each of those 20 subdistricts will have a seat that’s up for grabs in the November election. Residents in each of those areas will then be able to vote on their school board representative.
The 21st seat — the citywide board president position — isn’t tied to any specific district and will be voted on by the city as a whole.
Board candidates were able to begin collecting petition signatures on Feb. 24 ahead of the official filing period, which runs from May 18-26. Candidates running for the 20 district seats need between 500 and 1,500 signatures in order to appear on the November ballot, while board president candidates must collect at least 2,500 signatures.
But even though the entire board is up for election, not all seats are the same.
Anyone who wins one of the 10 seats that was previously up for election will serve a four-year term. Those who win one of the currently appointed seats will only serve two years. Those terms will then flip in future elections.
Who is running for president?
A handful of past and present board members have already thrown their hats into the ring for the board president seat.
Among them are current elected board members Jennifer Custer and Jessica Biggs, and Sendhil Revuluri, who previously served as board vice president under Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Victor Henderson, a trial attorney who also serves on the board of directors for the Urban Prep Academies charter schools, has also reportedly launched his own campaign.
Revuluri kicked off his campaign last October, lamenting at the time that “politics and adult self-interest have taken priority over our kids’ futures.”
“The results are devastating,” he said in a statement, “declining enrollment, record absenteeism, wasted resources, and too many of our students falling behind. It’s time for leadership that restores trust, focuses on learning, and puts children — not politics — first.”
Custer, a former teacher and assistant principal, listed teacher recruitment and retention, and the improving the school district’s budgetary future among her biggest priorities.
Biggs kicked off her campaign in early April, saying she intends to be “an advocate for CPS families in every corner of the city.”
Current board president Sean Harden — an appointee and close ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson — has not announced plans to enter the race and signaled last month that he was “wind(ing) down my time as president.”
