Chicago voters will make history Tuesday, November 3, when they elect every member of the Chicago Board of Education for the first time, marking a major shift in how the nation’s fourth-largest public school district is governed.
The election will determine who occupies 20 district seats and the citywide school board presidency, giving residents direct authority over the leadership responsible for overseeing Chicago Public Schools, its multibillion-dollar budget, academic policies, school facilities and long-term direction.
For more than three decades, Chicago’s mayor has exercised appointment authority over the school board. Tuesday’s election represents the completion of a transition toward an elected board, placing greater responsibility in the hands of voters across the city’s neighborhoods.
The stakes extend well beyond the candidates themselves. The next board will confront difficult decisions involving school funding, declining enrollment, academic performance, special education, school closures and the relationship between district leadership, teachers and families.
For Black families across Chicago, the election also raises important questions about equitable resources, neighborhood school stability and educational opportunities in communities that have experienced decades of school closures, population changes and disinvestment.
Unlike previous elections, every Chicago voter will have two school board choices: one for the citywide president and another for the representative of their assigned school board district.
The Candidates for School Board President
Three active candidates are competing for the citywide presidency: Jessica Biggs, Hilario Dominguez and Victor Henderson. A fourth candidate, Sendhil Revuluri, suspended his campaign but remains on the ballot.
Jessica Biggs
Biggs is a former Chicago Public Schools principal, a current school board member and director of the Southwest System of Care. Her experience includes classroom instruction, school administration and district governance.
Her campaign emphasizes improving reading and mathematics instruction, increasing funding for CPS and ensuring the district spends public money effectively.
Biggs has argued that the board’s decisions should be measured by whether they improve student learning. She opposes automatically increasing the property tax levy to the maximum allowed each year and supports maintaining multiple educational options, including neighborhood, magnet, selective-enrollment and charter schools.
She has received support from the Service Employees International Union.
Hilario Dominguez
Dominguez is a former CPS teacher and former deputy political director for the Chicago Teachers Union, where he is currently on leave.
He has made increased school funding the centerpiece of his campaign, arguing that Chicago’s public schools need additional resources to provide students with the services and educational opportunities they deserve.
His priorities include smaller class sizes, stronger special education programs, expanded arts and bilingual instruction, improved school facilities and universal full-day preschool beginning at age three.
Dominguez also supports expanding community schools that provide services beyond classroom instruction, including resources for students and families.
He has received support from the Chicago Teachers Union and Our Schools Chicago. He opposes school closures and supports maximizing the district’s property tax levy.
Victor Henderson
Henderson is an attorney, former certified public accountant and CPS parent who serves on the board of Urban Prep Charter Academy.
His campaign focuses on improving academic achievement, strengthening financial oversight and addressing student safety.
Henderson has emphasized the importance of improving reading and mathematics proficiency, graduation rates and accountability for educational outcomes.
He supports stronger financial management, opposes automatically raising property taxes to the maximum each year and favors maintaining different types of public schools, including charter schools.
Unlike Biggs and Dominguez, Henderson supports returning to an accountability system that assigns overall ratings to individual schools.
Sendhil Revuluri — Suspended Campaign
Revuluri, a former Chicago school board vice president and education consultant, suspended his campaign September 30 but remains listed on the ballot.
His campaign had focused on academic achievement, responsible financial management and rebuilding public confidence in district leadership.
Although he is no longer actively campaigning, his name remains on the ballot because the withdrawal occurred after the ballot was finalized.
The 20 District Races
Chicago’s school board districts are organized into 10 larger geographic areas, each divided into two voting districts designated A and B. Each voter selects a representative from their assigned district, not from all 20 races.
The following breakdown identifies the candidates and the neighborhoods represented in each contest.
North Side
District 1A: Ed Bannon and Margie Luczak
The district includes O’Hare, Norwood Park, Forest Glen, Jefferson Park, Dunning and Edison Park. Voters will choose between Bannon and Luczak to represent neighborhoods where school enrollment, educational programming and district resources remain important issues.
District 1B: Claudia Peralta and Michelle N. Pierre
Covering portions of Portage Park, Dunning, Irving Park, Belmont Cragin, North Park, Montclare and Albany Park, this contest will determine who represents several diverse Northwest Side communities.
District 2A: Ebony DeBerry and Hector Morales
The district includes West Ridge, Rogers Park and North Park. The race will determine representation for communities with diverse student populations and varying educational needs.
District 2B: Deborah “Debby” Pope and Kyna Lenhof
Voters in portions of Lincoln Square, Edgewater, Albany Park, Uptown and North Park will select between Pope and Lenhof.
District 3A: Norma Rios Sierra and Peter Gonzales
The district covers portions of Avondale, Irving Park, Logan Square, Belmont Cragin, Hermosa and Albany Park.
District 3B: Jason Dónes and Carlos Rivas Jr.
This race includes Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Belmont Cragin, West Town and Hermosa, where school investment, neighborhood development and educational resources remain relevant concerns.
District 4A: Ellen Sherratt, Karen Zaccor and Angel Alvarez
One of the district races with three candidates, District 4A includes Lakeview, Uptown, North Center and Edgewater. The contest has attracted substantial campaign fundraising compared with other district races.
District 4B: Ellen Rosenfeld
Rosenfeld is the only listed candidate in District 4B, which includes portions of Lincoln Park, North Center, Lakeview and Logan Square.
West Side
District 5A: LaPamela Williams, Aaron “Jitu” Brown and Kernetha Jones (Write-In)
The district includes Austin, Humboldt Park, West Town and Montclare.
Brown is a longtime Chicago education organizer known for his involvement in community campaigns concerning public school closures and neighborhood education resources.
Williams and Brown appear in the contest, while Jones is running as a write-in candidate.
The race carries particular significance for Austin and nearby West Side communities where the future of neighborhood schools remains a longstanding concern.
District 5B: Michilla “Kyla” Blaise and Anthony Hargrove
The district covers North Lawndale, the Near West Side, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park and West Town.
These communities have experienced significant changes in public school enrollment and neighborhood development. The elected representative will participate in decisions affecting school investment and educational services across the district.
District 6A: Anusha Thotakura, Isaiah White and Brenda Lee Anderson
The district includes portions of the Near North Side and West Town. Three candidates are competing for the seat.
South Side
District 6B: Michael L. Neal and Brittany B. Kimble
District 6B covers parts of Greater Grand Crossing, Grand Boulevard, Washington Park, the Near South Side, the Loop, Douglas, Woodlawn, Englewood, Fuller Park and Hyde Park.
The district includes several historically Black communities where access to neighborhood schools, academic resources and equitable district investment are important public policy concerns.
District 7A: Emma Lozana and Jesus Ayala Jr.
The district includes South Lawndale, the Near West Side, Lower West Side, Garfield Ridge and Archer Heights.
District 7B: Yesenia Lopez and Erika E. Diaz-Chavez
The district includes Brighton Park, Lower West Side, Archer Heights, Bridgeport, Gage Park, West Elsdon, Armour Square and McKinley Park.
District 8A: Angel Gutierrez
Gutierrez is the only listed candidate in District 8A, which includes Ashburn, Garfield Ridge, Clearing, West Lawn, Chicago Lawn and West Elsdon.
District 8B: Juan Ignacio Gonzalez and Alexander Angeles (Write-In)
The district includes portions of New City, Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, McKinley Park, Bridgeport, Brighton Park, West Lawn, the Near South Side, Armour Square and the Loop.
Gonzalez is the listed ballot candidate, while Angeles is seeking the seat as a write-in.
District 9A: Brittany R. Bailey Preston
Bailey Preston is the only listed candidate in District 9A, which includes Auburn Gresham, West Englewood, Englewood, New City, Ashburn and Washington Heights.
The district includes communities where school closures, neighborhood investment and access to educational resources have been central issues for families and community organizations.
District 9B: Therese Boyle and Katherine S. Dunneback
The district includes Roseland, West Pullman, Morgan Park, Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Washington Heights.
District 10A: Che “Rhymefest” Smith and Tameka Walton (Write-In)
Smith, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and community advocate known professionally as Rhymefest, is seeking to represent a district that includes South Shore, Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park, Kenwood, South Chicago, Douglas and Oakland.
Walton is running as a write-in candidate.
The district includes several predominantly Black neighborhoods where school investment, educational opportunities and community development remain important concerns.
District 10B: Connie Anderson, Patrick C. Watson and Rosita Chatonda (Write-In)
The district covers portions of South Deering, Hegewisch, Riverdale, East Side, Chatham, South Chicago, Pullman, Calumet Heights, Avalon Park, Burnside and South Shore.
Anderson and Watson are listed candidates, while Chatonda is running as a write-in.
What’s at Stake for Chicago Public Schools
The newly elected board will inherit responsibility for a school district facing financial pressures, academic challenges and continuing debates over how public education should be funded and governed.
One of the most immediate issues will be the district’s budget. Board members will have to make decisions about spending, potential property tax increases and the allocation of resources among schools.
Academic performance will also be a major responsibility. Candidates have offered different approaches to improving reading and mathematics achievement, measuring school performance and holding district leadership accountable.
The future of neighborhood schools remains another significant concern, particularly in Black and Latino communities where school closures and declining enrollment have reshaped educational opportunities.
The board will also oversee policies involving special education, student transportation, school safety, early childhood education and the relationship between CPS and independently operated charter schools.
Campaign financing has become an issue in its own right. Education advocacy organizations, labor unions and political action committees have invested millions of dollars in the election, reflecting competing perspectives on how Chicago’s schools should be governed.
According to an October analysis by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, political groups aligned against the Chicago Teachers Union had significantly outspent the union during the campaign. The financial activity has drawn attention to the role outside organizations may play in shaping the next school board.
For voters, the election offers an opportunity to evaluate candidates’ professional backgrounds, education priorities, financial proposals and approaches to public accountability.
Polls will be open Tuesday from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Residents can find their assigned school board district and compare candidates through the Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ, Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago’s joint voter guide.
As Chicago prepares to elect its entire school board for the first time, the results will establish a new chapter in public education governance and determine who will make decisions affecting hundreds of thousands of students and families across the city.
