Unusual mix of potential candidates line up for Chicago’s first school board elections this fall

CHICAGO– A Grammy-winning rapper, progressive activists and the leader of an after-school squash program are part of the eclectic mix of potential candidates lining up for the first school board elections this fall.

The third-largest city in the United States has long been an exception, with a mayor-appointed board overseeing its public schools, and it has taken years of advocacy and legislative wrangling to get to this point. But the trickiest part is probably yet to come.

November’s historic elections are part of a multi-year transition that is difficult to explain to voters. Special interest groups are paying attention. And questions are emerging about how the new 21-member council, triple the current size, will govern.

“This is not a political race, it’s a movement,” said the rapper Che “Rhymefest” Smith, who is among dozens of candidates who have filled out fundraising paperwork. “Everyone in this city has a responsibility to the children who will be served.”

Potential candidates are circulating petitions as they educate voters about the inaugural races. Many are parents, advocates and former educators making their first foray into politics, navigating a steep learning curve with little name recognition or money.

Although lawmakers approved an elected council in 2021, the logistics, including the political maps, were only resolved in March. The council will not be fully elected until 2027.

Residents, divided into 10 sprawling districts, will vote on council members to take office next year. The mayor will then appoint another 10 council members from smaller subdistricts, along with a municipal president. In 2026, voters will elect all 21 members, eventually to four-year terms.

“It almost takes a flowchart to figure this out,” said Adam Parrott-Sheffer, a former principal, praising his experience managing in the same South Side district as Smith.

Conversations with potential supporters involve more explanations about processes than issues, he says.

Mom Kate Doyle, who founded a nonprofit, hopes to represent a North Side district. After knocking on hundreds of doors, she found one person, a teacher, who perfectly understood what was coming.

The Chicago Board of Education — which approves a $9 billion budget, confirms a CEO and approves policies and contracts — was created by state legislators in 1872. After many iterations, a seven-member board was established in 1999. The district of about 325,000 students, which serves mostly low-income black and Latino children, has struggled with budget cuts and dwindling population.

Interest in elected representation gained momentum after former mayor Rahm Emanuel closed more than 50 schools in 2013.

The Chicago Teachers Union, among the groups advocating for the change, considers it a voting rights issue.

“An elected school board brings people from those spaces that have been neglected and disinvested to a table where they have some agency,” said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates.

More than 90% of school boards are elected, according to the National School Boards Association. Few school districts have recently switched from an appointed school board to an elected board, leaving Chicago without a roadmap.

A fellowship program at National Louis University is trying to ease Chicago’s transition with training for potential board members. The majority of the 22 current enrolled fellows hope to participate in the November vote. They are learning how to interact with the public and tactics for making group decisions.

“If this program can shorten the learning curve just a little bit, it could have a tremendous and really positive impact on students in the city,” said Bridget Lee, who oversees the program.

Candidates face several obstacles, including a truncated campaign season.

The jobs, which district officials estimate require up to 30 hours a week, are unpaid, limiting who can afford to work. At least 1,000 signatures are needed to reach the ballot box, more than double the number of councilors and some congressional candidates with paid political operations.

Anusha Thotakura, a 25-year-old activist with the progressive Citizen Action Illinois, collected 600 signatures in a district that includes both wealthy and low-income neighborhoods.

“This council presents a lot of hope to people about accountability,” she said.

Smith spread signed petitions on the dining table of his great-grandmother’s South Side home, where he lives.

“In Chicago, that’s money,” the 46-year-old joked. Still, he is investing $80,000 in his bid and has written a campaign song titled “Optimist.”

“People see a rapper and there’s a stigma to it,” said Smith, who made a unsuccessful 2011 City Council race. “I’m here to break stereotypes.”

Voter turnout in school elections is typically less than 10%, according to the NSBA. The presidential race is expected to help, although turnout in Chicago’s March primary was the lowest in years at about 26%.

That adds weight to endorsements, including from the influential teachers union. The competition to obtain them is fierce.

One possible candidate, Yesenia Lopez, revealed her campaign with the support of Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia before her campaign disclosure paperwork was filed.

Jesus Ayala, 32, hopes to run in the same Southwest Side district. He works at MetroSquash, a sports complex that offers mentoring and other student programs through racquet sports.

“When you have a congressman announcing someone’s candidacy, it looks like an elected official is trying to appoint someone to the board,” he said.

Elsewhere, outside organizations have invested money in low voter school elections, making them proxy votes for controversial national issues. During the 2017 Los Angeles board races, unions and pro-charter school groups spent $15 million.

In Chicago, charter school groups are already getting involved.

Paul Vallas, former superintendent and failed candidate for mayor of Chicago, started a political action committee that could support candidates. Parents advocating for restoration of school bus service, which the district cut in half driver shortagehosted the first candidate forum.

“The wild card in all of this is: Will there be tangentially related national issues that will affect the race?” asked Michael Ford, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

District officials have offered few details about how the council will operate. One thing that raises eyebrows is its size.

“They are creating conditions for a lot of political infighting, more opportunities for business negotiations, things that have been synonymous with Chicago politics,” said Jonathan Collins, a political scientist at Columbia University.

Los Angeles has seven board members, while Houston has nine. In New York, the panel was partially appointed and recently increased from 15 to 23.

Illinois State Sen. Rob Martwick, who advocated for an elected board, said more districts were created to counter the influence of outside money. More legislative changes could follow, including on campaign finance and board salaries.

“Now the responsibility to improve our schools is in your hands, we can no longer blame the mayor,” Martwick said.