Illinois Senate Democrats recently introduced legislation to transition the Chicago Public School Board (CPS) from an appointed to an elected body. Under the proposal, ten CPS Board members will be elected in 2024 and eleven CPS Board members including the Board Chair will be appointed by Mayor Johnson. In 2026, all 20 CPS Board members will be elected from subdistricts and the Board President will be elected citywide. Potential candidates can begin circulating petitions on March 26 for the 2024 election, with petitions to be filed between June 17 and June 24. The first Board election will take place November 5th, 2024.
For a decade or more, many voters in Chicago were asking for a fully elected Chicago School Board. The Illinois General Assembly was tasked with implementing a plan for the fully elected School Board based on state legislation.
After heavy lobbying and much opposition, the vote was taken to implement less than half of an elected School board. It is unfortunate that the Mayor reneged on his promise for a fully elected School board after years of promises and demand for a full elected board. Mayor Johnson, who appointed all the members of the present school board will appoint 11 members of a 21 member Chicago School Board, with 10 members having to run in the upcoming election in November 2024. Anyone considering running for the elected portion of the board (10) will be running for office in these new maps for the November election.
A map detailing electoral district boundaries, as well as demographic data and shape files, is available online at www.ilsenateredistricting.com. The map consists of 20 districts, including seven majority Black districts, six majority Latino districts, five majority White districts and two coalition districts. The 32nd Ward includes multiple districts.
The legislation includes ethical standards similar to those for other school boards across the state. That includes conflict of interest provisions in line with the state’s existing Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act.
