WTTW News Explains
WTTW News Explains: How This Year’s Chicago Board of Education Elections Will Work
For decades, Chicago has been the only city in Illinois with its board of education handpicked by its mayor much to the chagrin of education advocates who’ve long called for the board to be an elected body.
This fall, those advocates finally get their wish. It’s off to the races.
In the November general election, for the first time ever, all 21 seats on the board will be up for grabs, ending a reign of mayoral control that dates back to 1995 under Richard M. Daley.
The board already underwent one radical shift in 2024, tripling in size from 7 members to 21. Ten of those members were elected by city residents, and the other 11 — a majority — were still picked by the mayor.
That board approves Chicago Public Schools’ budget and policies, sets the annual academic calendar and hires and evaluates the school district’s CEO.
Now, that power will be fully with the people.
So how will the next round of elections play out?
Illinois lawmakers divided Chicago into 20 separate voting districts. One representative from each will be elected by voters in that district to serve on the school board.
Lucky No. 21 is reserved for the board president, who will be elected by all Chicago voters and represent the whole city, much like the mayor.
2026 marks the one and only time all 21 seats will be up for election. That’s because 10 seats will be four-year terms and the other 10 will serve two-year terms.
Those terms will then rotate in future elections, so just half the board will be up for election at once.
And where there’s elections, especially in Chicago, there’s also spending. Lots of it.
Chalkbeat found that groups spent $13 million on the 2024 elections, and that was with just 10 seats up for grabs. As that number jumps to 21 this year, expect campaign spending to go up, up, up.
Let the races begin.
