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Chicagoans are headed to the polls to elect school board members for the first time.
Ten seats representing 10 districts across the city are being contested. The winners will join 11 other members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer. In 2026, all 21 school board seats will be on the ballot.
Tuesday’s election will end 30 years of mayoral control in the nation’s fourth largest school district. It comes at a contentious time: CPS is in a period of leadership turmoil marked by divisions over how to cover costs at a time of expiring COVID aid and enrollment decline.
The makeup of the new board will shape how the district answers thorny questions about money and its future direction.
If more union-aligned candidates win, the mayor could have a solid bloc of board members who side with his policy visions, such as avoiding school closures and potentially taking out a loan to pay for upcoming costs.
Successful school choice or charter-aligned candidates could mean a softer approach to those schools. Those members also could be foils for the mayor’s agenda. No matter the election results, mayoral appointees will make up a majority of the next board.
A total of 47 people filed to run to represent 10 geographic districts on the school board, but just 31 made it on the ballot. Candidates have staked out positions on school choice, taxes, and district leadership. And the campaign has been distinguished by big spending and sharp words over the role the teachers union and education reform advocates have played in the race.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and you can find out what district you’re in and look up where to vote here. Check back after the polls close for updated voting results.
District 1: Far Northwest Side, Irving Park
Two educators and mothers with children in Chicago Public Schools — Jennifer Custer and Michelle N. Pierre — are vying to represent families and residents on Chicago’s Northwest Side in District 1.
Both candidates raised more than $100,000 in their bids to secure a seat on the board. Custer raised significant amounts from labor unions, including the Chicago Teachers Union, which endorsed her candidacy. Pierre received backing from pro-school choice groups and benefited from spending by two super PACs supporting school choice candidates.
In all, 43 schools in District 1 serve 32,410 students, most of whom are Hispanic and white. There is one charter school and one alternative school.
District 2: Rogers Park, Edgewater, Lincoln Square, Albany Park
Covering the city’s Far Northeast corner, District 2 drew four candidates with different visions for the future of Chicago’s schools.
Bruce Leon, a retired human resource entrepreneur, has argued for a fiscally prudent approach to running the school district, including the possible closure of severely under-enrolled campuses. In contrast, Ebony DeBerry, a former teacher and the CTU-backed candidate, has argued for more investment in the city’s schools.
Kate Doyle, a former teacher and nonprofit cofounder, has tried to position herself as an independent-minded progressive candidate. CPS mom Maggie Cullerton Hooper, the daughter of former Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, is also running on a progressive platform and says she would be the first school board member with disabilities to join the school board.
Leon loaned himself more than $500,000 to finance his campaign, while DeBerry’s campaign has been largely bankrolled by the teachers union and its allies. Cullerton Hooper has raised more than $181,000 and Doyle brought in more than $93,000.
District 2 serves 27,637 students in 37 schools, including three magnets and three charters.
District 3: Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Hermosa
In the predominantly Latino District 3, two candidates with similar backstories are going head-to-head. Both Carlos Rivas Jr. and Jason Dónes grew up in Chicago, graduated from coveted selective enrollment high schools, and went on to work as educators through the Teach for America program.
But the two men diverge on school choice. Rivas says he will be an independent board member devoted to preserving the variety of schools that exist today, including charter, magnet, and selective schools. He has drawn financial support from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and another pro-school choice group, and has received a slew of small-dollar donations.
Dónes says he is a progressive candidate focused on expanding school staffing and ensuring curriculums are culturally relevant. He is backed by the CTU and other unions, as well as some local elected officials.
Dónes has raised more than $300,000, largely from the teachers union and its allies, while Rivas brought in just over $75,000. However, super PACs, which are not allowed to coordinate with candidates, spent more than $280,000 in support of Rivas.
District 3 has a total of 55 schools serving 31,598 students, with the city’s highest rate of bilingual students. Area schools include 10 charters, two magnets, and four alternative schools.
District 4: Lakeview, Lincoln Park
The district covering Chicago’s northern lakefront has six candidates running for school board – the most of any district.
Candidates are running to represent a 36-school district that is mostly white but has far more diverse schools. Just over a third of CPS students in District 4 are white, roughly another third are Hispanic, just under 16% are Black, and 8.5% are Asian American. There are no charters and about a dozen selective enrollment and magnet schools.
Kimberly Brown is a marketing professional and adjunct professor at two colleges. Andrew A. Davis is a former owner of a brokerage firm and former head of a state agency focused on higher education who now heads up an education-related nonprofit. Thomas Day is a veteran who is an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Carmen Gioiosa is a former CPS teacher and central office staffer who now teaches early childhood education at National Louis University. Ellen Rosenfeld is a former CPS teacher and currently works on family engagement for CPS. And Karen Zaccor is a retired CPS teacher and longtime community organizer who advocated for an elected school board.
Every candidate has children who are CPS students or graduates.
Zaccor, who is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, has raised almost $236,000, the most of any District 4 candidate. Rosenfeld, who has been endorsed by a slew of state and local elected officials, has raised nearly $187,000. The rest of the candidates have raised nearly $25,000 or less.
District 5: West Side, West Loop, Near West Side
Just one candidate – Aaron ‘Jitu’ Brown – is officially on the ballot for District 5, which spans from the West Loop to Austin.
Brown is a longtime community organizer who has fought school closures and advocated for an elected school board. There are also two write-in candidates: Jousef Shkoukani and Kernetha Jones. Shkoukani is an attorney who lives in the West Loop and runs an education-focused nonprofit based in Michigan. Jones said she is a former teacher. (Former candidate and current school board member Michillia Blaise’s name will appear on the ballot but votes for her won’t be counted, as she withdrew from the race.)
The candidates are vying to represent a chunk of the city that has more schools — 105 — than any other district. A quarter of these schools are charters. About 57% of District 5 residents are Black, 19% are white, nearly another 19% are Hispanic, and 3.4% are Asian American.
In District 5’s public schools, 62% of students are Black, 5% white, almost 28% Hispanic, and nearly 3% Asian American.
Brown, who has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, has raised nearly $55,000. Jones and Shkoukani have not reported raising money.
District 6: Downtown, Bronzeville, Near South Side
Four candidates are seeking election in District 6: Jessica Biggs, a former CPS principal; Anusha Thotakura, policy advocate; Andrew Smith, a finance manager; and write-in candidate Danielle Wallace, a nonprofit leader.
District 6 covers neighborhoods on the city’s South Side, such as Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, Woodlawn, and Hyde Park, and neighborhoods on the city’s north side such as Streeterville and River North.
The candidates raised almost $460,000 in campaign donations, according to Chalkbeat’s recent analysis of campaign finance disclosures. Thotakura raised the most: $360,000, with donations from the Chicago Teachers Union as well as local elected officials.
District 7: Pilsen, Little Village, Bridgeport, Brighton Park
Three candidates are in the race to represent District 7, which covers parts of the city’s South and Southwest sides.
Raquel Don is a CPS graduate and parent, former accountant, and current member of the Jones College Prep Local School Council. Yesenia Lopez, a CPS graduate, is an executive assistant for the Illinois Secretary of State and has worked in multiple state and federal campaigns. Eva A. Villalobos, also a CPS graduate, is a former accountant and mother of four children who attend private schools.
The district has 79 schools with nearly 45,000 students – the most student enrollment of any school board district.
Of the three candidates, Lopez, who was endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, has raised nearly $167,000. Villalobos has raised nearly $37,000, including from Urban Center PAC, led by former CPS CEO and mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. Don has collected nearly $3,000.
District 8: Far Southwest Side, Back of the Yards
Angel Guiterrez, a nonprofit consultant, and Felix Ponce, a Chicago Public Schools music teacher, both ran to represent families and school communities on Chicago’s Southwest Side and a smaller sliver of the Loop. District 8 includes neighborhoods like West Lawn, Marquette Park, Ashburn, McKinley Park, and Bridgeport.
Ponce raised around $295,000, while Gutierrez brought in about $86,000. Ponce received a large amount of money from the Chicago Teachers Union, which endorsed him in the election, and other contributions from state and local officials. Gutierrez received money from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. Two super PACs supporting pro-school choice candidates also spent at least $270,000 on direct mail and ads in support of Gutierrez.
District 9: Englewood, Roseland, Beverly, Morgan Park
In District 9, the candidates are Therese Boyle, a former longtime Chicago teacher; former school board member Miquel Lewis, the acting director of Cook County Juvenile Probation and Court Services; Lanetta Thomas, a U.S. Army veteran and community organizer in Roseland; and La’Mont Raymond Willians, chief of staff and general counsel to a Cook County commissioner.
District 9 covers the city’s south side in neighborhoods such as Morgan Park, Roseland, Pullman, Beverly, Auburn-Greshman, and Englewood.
Candidates raised a combined $108,000 for their campaigns, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of most recent campaign finance disclosures. Therese Boyle raised the most, with over $55,000 coming from her own pocket, small donations, and loans. Miquel Lewis’ campaign raised the second highest amount, over $27,000. Two pro-school choice super PACs also spent more than $300,000 in support of Lewis, though by law they are not allowed to coordinate with candidates.
District 10: Hyde Park, South Shore, Woodlawn, Southeast Side
In one of the city’s most spread-out and socioeconomically diverse districts, four candidates are vying for the school board seat.
The Rev. Robert Jones, one of the hunger strikers who opposed the closure of Dyett High School in 2015, received a significant financial and in-kind boost from the CTU. Nonprofit CEO Karin Norington-Reaves, the mother of a CPS student with a disability, got the backing of pro-school choice super PACs and what she described as an “anti-CTU coalition” concerned about the union’s growing influence. Education consultant and former CPS principal Adam Parrott-Sheffer has aimed to bill himself as an independent-minded candidate and the only one with both experience as a CPS educator and children attending the district. And rapper Che “Rhymefest” Smith, who garnered endorsements from some high-profile elected officials, said he would be a creative change agent on the board.
Meanwhile, a former CPS educator and teachers union official, Rosita Chatonda, ran as a write-in candidate after petition challenges knocked her off the ballot.
The roughly 90 district-run and charter schools serving 34,700 students have among the highest poverty rates on average. With both popular specialized programs and campuses that have struggled with rapidly shrinking enrollment, the district captures the uneven student experiences in CPS.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.
Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.
Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.
