Voters in the Nov. 5 election will pick a member to represent each of 10 new districts as the board triples in size from its current size of seven up to 21 members beginning in January 2025.

“Borrowing to pay for operating expenses in a business, in a government, etc., is not a great idea unless you know how you’re going to pay for that, because it’s going to come due,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, “speaking as a businessperson.”

Nearly a week after the Chicago School Board approved a new five-year plan for Chicago Public Schools, tensions among CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union are mounting.

As Chicago grapples with a nearly $1 billion budget gap in the coming year, the city shouldn’t count on the state to help fill it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’s “read things in the newspaper” about relief Chicago may want from the Illinois government, but at this point that’s not something his budget team is thinking about.

The Chicago Teachers Union is still in the midst of public contract negotiations, and the union said CPS leaders aren’t doing enough about the lack of academic resources. This comes amid concerns over district funding.

Martinez said he has not been told by anyone in the Johnson administration that his job is on the line, and in an interview on “Chicago Tonight” Monday evening, maintained there’s “never been better alignment between our district, our board … the city, the mayor, and I would argue even the unions” as they all know and want CPS to have more money.

The seven-member Board of Education on Thursday approved the district’s $9.9 billion spending plan for the upcoming school year despite criticisms from educators who said the district is relying on staff vacancies to plug its $505 million funding gap.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates spoke with WTTW News about the ongoing contract negotiations.

With a budget crunch, union negotiations and other challenges ahead, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez appeared on “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the current state of CPS.

The CTU announced the sides have agreed to schedule an open contract bargaining session Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Marquette Elementary School, 6550 S. Richmond St., in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

The Chicago City Council is poised to fill two long-vacant seats on the city's Board of Ethics after Mayor Brandon Johnson faced months of criticism from good-government advocates.

Illinois legislators passed 469 measures this year. The bulk of those items will likely become law, pending action from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But in some cases, what lawmakers left on the table is equally significant as what passed.

The historic November races are part of a multi-year transition that is hard to explain to voters. Special interest groups are taking notice. And questions loom about how the new 21-member board, triple the current size, will govern.

Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter confirmed the union and school district have agreed to hold open bargaining sessions that will allow community stakeholders to attend negotiations for the first time.

Chicago Public Schools teachers and administrators aren’t shying away from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s claim the city’s schools are “owed” $1 billion from the state. But they dramatically scaled back their immediate demands during a rare joint CPS and Chicago Teachers Union lobbying trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday.

Officials from the union and Chicago Public Schools began talks this week as the sides work to secure the first new teachers contract since former CTU organizer and educator Brandon Johnson was elected mayor.