On Nov. 5, Chicagoans will select their pick for President of the United States and a host of statewide and local offices. But one choice on the ballot is new: a candidate to represent their community on the Chicago Board of Education. Voters from each of the city’s 10 school districts will select one candidate to represent them, while eleven individuals from each district, including the board president, will be appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, comprising an expanded, 21-member school board.
After decades of mayoral control of the school board, these candidates, representing far-reaching districts across the city, will have a decisive role in shaping Chicago Public Schools’ future.
Here’s what you need to know about this historic election, the candidates in the running and how this election is expected to shape education in the city going forward.
How does the Chicago Board of Education work now, and how will this election change it?
First, the basics. The Chicago Board of Education oversees Chicago Public Schools, including its leadership and finances. There are currently seven board members, all appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Board members are not paid for their work.
Since 1995, the mayor of Chicago has appointed the board’s members, and the move to a partially elected board in November aims to give the public more direct control over who oversees the school district.
It will also change the size of the board. After the 2024 election, the board will consist of 21 members, ten of whom are elected and 11, including the board’s president, who will be chosen by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Beginning in 2026, all 21 seats will be elected, including the board president, who will be voted on in a city-wide election.
How do I vote to elect a school board member?
The school board election takes place on Nov. 5, the day of the General Election nationwide. To vote in the General Election, you must be a U.S. citizen, reside in your jurisdiction for at least 30 days before the election and be 18 or older. Check your voter registration status here.
In addition to casting your ballot in person at election sites across the city on Nov 5., Illinois also offers early voting and vote-by-mail options. Residents can also apply to vote by mail until Oct. 31.
Early voting sites in all city wards opened Oct. 21. Same-day voter registration is also available at 191 N. Clark St. and the Chicago Board of Elections offices at 69 W. Washington St.
How do I find out what district I’m in?
Because the 2024 election is a shift to a hybrid, partially-elected board, the process will be different this year than in future elections.
The city has been divided into ten districts, each of which is further divided into two sub-districts. This year, voters in each district will vote for a single candidate, and Mayor Brandon Johnson will be required to choose a board member who resides in the other sub-district in each district.
Voters can look up what district they reside in here:
To search for your elected school board district: 1) type in an address, 2) look up a specific place name or 3) drop a pin anywhere on the map. To try a different address or clear your results select “Clear search location” at the top of the map.
Trouble viewing on web or mobile? Click here.
What candidates are running?
There arecandidates in the running across the ten districts. At least two candidates are running in all districts except the 5th, which covers swaths of the West and Near West sides and where Aaron “Jitu” Brown is running uncontested.
At its height, the race had 47 candidates. Over the summer, a flurry of objections to candidates’ signature sheets and nomination papers—which were required to be in the running—knocked a number of candidates off the ballot. A few more withdrew from the race. Several of these candidates instead launched write-in campaigns.
Scroll the profile cards to read each candidate’s campaign platform and use the dropdown bar at the top to filter candidates by district.
Why does an elected school board matter?
Talk of shifting to an elected school board in Chicago after nearly 30 years of mayoral control has been going on for years. But the road to this historic election has been rocky.
In recent years, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she supported an elected school board in her 2019 mayoral campaign, then backtracked and pushed for a hybrid board. But, in 2021, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a measure into law approving the transition to an elected board.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose 2023 mayoral run leveraged education reform as a cornerstone of his platform, has been a supporter of the move to an elected school board.
The Chicago Teachers Union, too, has championed the move to an elected school board, and is now seeking to assert its influence on the school district through big campaign donations to its endorsed school board candidates. In opposition to CTU’s slate, pro-charter and school choice groups are also spending big in the race.
With recent turmoil over Mayor Johnson’s reported attempt to oust CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez and the subsequent resignation of Johnson’s appointed board, the mayor’s appointment earlier this month of a new seven-member board and a new school board to be seated in January, is expected to further shake up the political forces involved in these recent controversies, as pro-charter groups and the teachers union vie for power by way of their endorsed candidates in the race.
But just how these groups – and other interested parties – will seek to carve out greater influence on schools in the city once there’s an expanded and partially-elected board in place remains to be seen.
For more information on Chicago’s elected school board races and the candidates running in your district, click on your district on the map below and then click the link in the pop-up.
To navigate directly to information on the race in your neighborhood, click on your district below:
Voters can continue to follow the Tribune’s coverage of the school board race here, as well as attend candidate forums to learn more about their district’s candidates.
