chicago — A Grammy Award-winning rapper, progressive activist and after-school squash program leader are part of an eclectic mix of potential candidates lining up for Chicago's first school board election this fall.
America's third-largest city has long been an outlier, 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 messiest part is likely yet to come.
The historic November election is part of a multi-year transition that is difficult to explain to voters. Special interest groups are taking notice. Questions loom over how the new 21-member board, three times the current size, will govern.
“This is not a political race, this is a movement,” said rapper Che “Rhymefest” Smith, among dozens of hopefuls who filed fundraising papers. “Everyone in this city has a responsibility to the children who will be served.”
Prospective candidates distribute petitions while educating voters about the inaugural contests. Many are parents, advocates and former teachers making their first foray into politics, navigating a steep learning curve with little fame or money.
While lawmakers approved an elected council in 2021, logistics, including political maps, were not settled until March. The full board will not be elected until 2027.
Residents, divided into 10 sprawling districts, will vote to select board members to take office next year. The mayor will then appoint 10 more board members from smaller subdistricts along with a citywide president. In 2026, voters will elect all 21 members, ultimately for four-year terms.
“It almost takes a flowchart to figure it out,” said Adam Parrott Shafer, a former manager who touts his experience working in the same South Side neighborhood where Smith lives.
He says conversations with potential backers involve explaining the process more than the issues.
Mother Kate Doyle, who founded the nonprofit, hopes to represent the North Side area. After knocking on hundreds of doors, I found one person, the teacher, who completely 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 several versions, a seven-member board was created in 1999. The student district has about 325,000 students, serves largely low-income black and Latino children, and has faced budget cuts and a declining 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 supporting the change, considers it a voting rights issue.
“The elected school board brings people from those places that have been neglected and disinvested to a table where they have some agency,” said CTU President Stacey Davis Gates.
More than 90% of school boards are elected, according to the National School Boards Association. Some school districts have recently changed from an appointed school board to an elected one, leaving Chicago without a road map.
A fellowship program through National Louis University attempts to ease Chicago's transition by training potential board members. At least three of the 22 current registered fellows are hoping to get on the November ballot. They learn how to deal with the public and the tactics of group decision making.
“If this program can shorten the learning curve a little bit, it could have a really huge, positive impact on students in the city,” said Bridget Lee, who oversees the program.
Candidates face numerous obstacles, including a truncated campaign season.
The jobs, which district officials estimate require up to 30 hours a week, are unpaid, limiting the affordability of operating them. At least 1,000 signatures are needed to get on the ballot, more than twice the number of House members and some congressional candidates who have paid political operations.
Anusha Thottakura, a 25-year-old activist with the progressive Citizen Action in Illinois, collected 600 signatures in an area that includes affluent and low-income neighborhoods.
“This council offers a lot of hope to people about accountability,” she said.
Smith stewed the signed petitions at the dining table in his great-grandmother's house on the South Side where he lives.
“In Chicago, that's the money,” the 46-year-old joked. However, he is investing $80,000 in his show, and has written a song for the campaign called “Optimistic.”
“People see rappers and there's a stigma against them,” said Smith, who unsuccessfully ran for city council in 2011. “I'm here to break stereotypes.”
Voter turnout in school elections is typically less than 10%, according to the NAACP. The presidential election is expected to help, although turnout in Chicago's March primary was the lowest in years at about 26%.
This adds weight to support, including from the influential teachers union. The competition to get them is fierce.
One potential candidate, Yesenia Lopez, revealed her campaign with support from Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia before filing her campaign disclosure papers.
Jesus Ayala, 32, hopes to run in the same Southwest Side district. He works at MetroSquash, a sports complex that offers mentorship and other programs to students through racquetball.
“When a member of Congress announces someone's nomination, it's like an elected official trying to put someone on the board,” he said.
Elsewhere, outside organizations have poured money into school elections, casting proxy votes on 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, a former supervisor and failed candidate for mayor of Chicago, has created a political action committee that can support candidates. Parents calling for the restoration of school bus service, which the district cut amid a driver shortage, hosted their first candidate forum.
“The deciding card in all of this is: Will there be national issues of tangential relevance that will bleed into the race?” asked Michael Ford, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
District officials provided few details about how the council would operate. The only thing that is surprising is its size.
“They are creating the conditions for a lot of political infighting, and a lot more opportunities to broker deals, things that were once synonymous with Chicago politics,” said Jonathan Collins, a political science professor at Columbia University.
Los Angeles has seven board members while Houston has nine. In New York, the committee was partially appointed and its number was recently increased from 15 to 23.
Illinois State Sen. Rob Martwick, who advocated for an elected board, said more districts were created to limit the influence of outside money. More legislative changes could follow, including campaign finance and board salaries.
“Now the responsibility for improving our schools is in your hands, and you can't blame the mayor anymore. Look in the mirror,” Martwick said.
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This story was first published on Sunday, June 2. It was updated on June 3 to correct the number of fellows in the National Louis University program hoping to get on the November ballot. They are at least three of the 22 current colleagues, but not most of them.
