Here’s what to know about Chicago’s 31 school board candidates

Chicago voters will pick from 31 candidates for 10 school board seats. The Chicago Teachers Union is trying to expand its political power by pushing a candidate in each of the 10 districts.

Chicago’s first school board election is now expected give voters a choice between 31 candidates across 10 school board districts, with a Chicago Teachers Union-backed candidate running in each district.

But CTU’s backing might be a problem for those 10 candidates: 55% of Chicago voters surveyed would be less likely to vote for a candidate who took money from CTU, a poll in early August showed.

While voters will pick 10 board members Nov. 5, the other 11 will be appointed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson until 2027. Johnson is a former CTU employee whose run for mayor was bankrolled by CTU.

CTU could potentially control Chicago Public Schools leadership as well as City Hall if its candidates win their district races. In turn, this would put the union in a position to negotiate with its own allies on the school board over future contracts.

In total, 16 school board candidates were knocked off the ballot by the Chicago Board of Elections or decided to withdraw since challenges to their nominating petitions began. Residents can begin voting by mail for their chosen candidate starting Sept. 26.

Not sure which district you live in? Find out through an interactive map compiled by Chalkbeat.

Check out the list below for links to the candidates’ websites for those seeking the seat in your district. Also, see which candidates are backed by CTU.

District 1:

• Jennifer Custer – Former teacher, assistant principal, dean of students and Itasca Education Association union president (CTU endorsed).
• Michelle N. Pierre – Former principal, chief academic officer and chief of schools for LEARN Charter School Network.

District 2:

• Ebony DeBerry – Former lead teacher, youth department coordinator and current education organizer for Grow Your Own Teacher (CTU endorsed).
• Kate Doyle – Former special education teacher, current and CEO founder of KindWork as well as vice president of the Greater Rockwell Organization.
• Maggie Cullerton Hooper – Former principal consultant, deputy finance director and current chief philanthropy and partnerships officer for the city of Chicago.
• Bruce Leon – Current president of Benefits Solution Group, Alliance Workplace Solutions and founder and president of Tandem HR.

District 3:

• Jason Dónes – Former teacher, managing director for Teach for America and current chief of people and operations at Beyond100k (CTU endorsed).
• Carlos Rivas – Former teacher, director of youth programs, adjunct lecturer, current COPA director of public affairs and fellow of the Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation.

District 4:

• Kimberly Brown – Former founder and CEO of Centrally Human Inc., change management consultant and current chief marketing officer at Darley.
• Andrew Davis – Former CEO of the Rock Island Co., former treasurer and board member of the GCE Lab School and current president of the Education Equity Fund.
• Thomas Day – Former senior consultant, partner at Invent2026, lecturer and current executive director and co-founder at Frontier Mission Network.
• Carmen Gioiosa – Former teacher, CPS administrator, adjunct faculty and current adjunct professor at National Louis University.
• Ellen Rosenfeld – Former school teacher, local school council member and current family and community engagement manager for CPS.
• Karen Zaccor – Former teacher, local school board member and co-founder of Uplift Community High School (CTU endorsed).

District 5:

• Jitu Brown – Former president of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and national current director for the Journey for Justice Alliance (CTU endorsed).

District 6:

• Jessica Biggs – Former special education teacher, CPS principal and regional director at the Southwest Organizing Project.
• Andre Smith – Minister and founder and CEO of Chicago Against Violence.
• Anusha Thotakura – Former teacher, special projects manager, campaign manager and current deputy director at Citizen Action Illinois (CTU endorsed).

District 7:

• Raquel Don – Former accountant, substitute teacher and current Friends of Jones Board Member at Jones College Prep.
• Yesenia Lopez – Former legislative coordinator, public policy fellow, Latino outreach director for Gov. J.B. Pritzker and current executive assistant to chief of staff and deputy secretary at the Illinois Secretary of State (CTU endorsed).
• Eva Villalobos – Former accounting coordinator, staff accountant and current managing partner at AVE Properties of Illinois LLC.

District 8:

• Angel Gutierrez – Former executive director, vice president at the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and chief advancement officer at the Chicago Hope Academy.
• Felix Ponce – Former All-City Concert Band director, current director of bands at Harold L. Richards High School and band coordinator and instructor at Roosevelt University (CTU endorsed).

District 9:

• Therese Boyle – Former teacher and psychologist at Chicago Public Schools.
• Miquel Lewis – Former counselor, chairman of the board of directors at the NOBLE Network of Charter Schools and current director of the Cook County Juvenile Probation Court Services Department.
• Lanetta Thomas – Former director of public relations, digital media producer, community organizer and current assistant to promotions, marketing and external relations director at Governor’s State University (CTU endorsed).
• La’Mont R. Williams – Former mentorship program coordinator, associate attorney and current chief of staff and general counsel to Cook County Commissioner Bill Lowry.

District 10:

• Rev. Robert Jones – Former member of Dunbar High School’s Local School Council and current pastor at Mount Carmel Baptist Church (CTU endorsed).
• Karin Norington-Reaves – Former trial attorney, adjunct professor, 20th Ward chief of staff, chief executive officer at the Chicago Cook Workforce partnership and current independent consult and chief executive officer at I.C. Stars.
• Adam Parrott-Sheffer – Former teacher, researcher, CPS principal and current managing partner at Post Script Coaching and Consulting and adjunct faculty in professional education at Harvard.
• Che “Rhymefest” Smith – Grammy and Academy Award-winning artist, actor, Dartmouth Montgomery fellow, fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and co-founder of Art of Culture.

Johnson and CTU leaders originally advocated for Chicagoans to elect all 21 members of the Chicago School Board in the November election. However, the union changed its official stance to support a half-appointed school board after successfully funding Johnson’s mayoral campaign.

The CTU poured nearly $2.3 million into Johnson’s mayoral campaign while continuing to pay him as an employee. CTU leaders have also funneled nearly $1.3 million to current lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly since 2010, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

While nearly half of lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly have taken money from CTU, new polling suggests those union dollars come with a political cost. 

Illinois Policy Institute polling conducted by M3 Strategies showed 55% of Chicago voters were less likely to vote for politicians who accepted CTU cash.

CTU is already working with Johnson to remove CPS CEO Pedro Martinez from his post after Martinez revealed just a fraction of union demands would push the district into a $2.9 billion deficit next year.

Giving union leaders even greater power over Chicago’s public school system will likely lead to more of the same: more backroom dealings, failing test scores and the privilege of paying more for a worse education.

Vote by mail in Chicago’s first school board election will begin Sept. 26 followed by early in-person voting at select locations starting Oct. 3.