2026 Chicago Board of Education election
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November 3, 2026
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| Elections in Illinois |
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The Chicago Board of Education election will take place on November 3, 2026, alongside the statewide general elections, to elect all twenty members and the Board President. This will be the first time the entire board will be elected since its formation in 1837, following the 2024 election where half the board members were elected.[1]
Board members elected in half of the districts (1B, 2A, 3B, 4B, 5A, 6B, 7B, 8A, 9B, and 10A), where the current incumbent was elected in 2024, will serve four-year terms. Board members in the other half of the districts (1A, 2B, 3A, 4A, 5B, 6A, 7A, 8B, 9A, and 10B), where the current incumbent was appointed by the Mayor, will serve two-year terms. Starting in 2028, elections will be held for four-year terms in staggered two-year intervals.[2][3]
Board President
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Jessica Biggs, incumbent Board member
- Hilario Dominguez
- Sendhil Revuluri
- Victor Henderson
Withdrawn
[edit]- Jennifer Custer, incumbent Board member[4]
Endorsements
[edit]Hilario Dominguez
Labor unions
Sendhil Revuluri
Organizations
- Chicago Democrats for Education[7]
District 1A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Ed Bannon
- Margie B. Luczak
Endorsements
[edit]Ed Bannon
Labor unions
- Chicago Teachers Union[6]
- SEIU Illinois State Council[5]
District 1B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Claudia Peralta
- Michelle N. Pierre
Endorsements
[edit]Claudia Peralta
Labor unions
- Chicago Teachers Union[6]
- SEIU Illinois State Council[5]
District 2A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Ebony DeBerry, incumbent Board member
- Bruce Leon
- Hector Morales
Endorsements
[edit]Ebony DeBerry
Labor unions
- Chicago Teachers Union[6]
- SEIU Illinois State Council[5]
Organizations
- ONE People's Campaign[7]
District 2B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Daniel Basco
- Kyna Lenhof
- Debby Pope, incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]Kyna Lenhof
Debby Pope
District 3A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Peter Gonzales
- Norma Rios Sierra, incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]Peter Gonzales
Norma Rios Sierra
Labor unions
- Chicago Teachers Union[6]
- SEIU Illinois State Council[5]
District 3B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Jason Dónes
- Carlos Rivas Jr., incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]Jason Dones
District 4A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Angel Alvarez
- Ellen Sherratt
- Karen Zaccor, incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]Ellen Sherratt
Karen Zaccor
District 4B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Ellen Rosenfeld, incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]District 5A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Aaron "Jitu" Brown, incumbent Board member
- LaPamela Williams
Endorsements
[edit]Aaron "Jitu" Brown
Labor unions
District 5B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Michilla "Kyla" Blaise, incumbent Board member
- Anthony Hargrove
Endorsements
[edit]Michilla "Kyla" Blaise
Labor unions
- Chicago Teachers Union[6]
- Our Schools PAC[7]
District 6A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Brenda Lee Anderson
- Anusha Thotakura, incumbent Board member
- Isaiah White
Endorsements
[edit]Anushka Thotakura
Labor unions
- Chicago Teachers Union[6]
- SEIU Illinois State Council[5]
Organizations
- Our Schools PAC[7]
Brenda Lee Anderson
Organizations
- Leadership for Educational Equity PAC[7]
District 6B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Brittany B. Kimble
- Michael L. Neal
Endorsements
[edit]Michael Neal
Organizations
- Common Ground Collective[8]
Brittany Kimble
Organizations
- The Urban Center[7]
District 7A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Jesus Ayala Jr.
- Emma Lozano, incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]Jesus Ayala Jr.
Emma Lozano
Labor unions
District 7B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Erika E. Diaz-Chavez
- Yesenia Lopez, incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]Erika Diaz-Chavez
Organizations
- Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC[7]
District 8A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Angel Gutierrez, incumbent Board member
Endorsements
[edit]District 8B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Juan Ignacio Gonzalez
Write-in candidates
[edit]- Alexander Angeles
Filed but did not qualify for the ballot
[edit]- Cydney Wallace, incumbent Board member[9]
Endorsements
[edit]District 9A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Brittany Preston
Filed but did not qualify for the ballot
[edit]- Angel L. Velez, incumbent board member[9]
Endorsements
[edit]District 9B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Therese Boyle, incumbent Board member
- Katherine S. Dunneback
Filed but did not qualify for the ballot
[edit]- Marlo Barnett[9]
Endorsements
[edit]Therese Boyle
Katherine S. Dunneback
District 10A
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Che "Rhymefest" Smith, incumbent Board member
Write-in candidates
[edit]- Tameka Walton (filed but did not qualify for the ballot, and subsequently announced intention to run as a write-in candidate)[10]
Filed but did not qualify for the ballot
[edit]- Krista Nichols Alston[9]
Endorsements
[edit]Che "Rhymefest" Smith
Tameka Walton
Labor unions
District 10B
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Connie Anderson
- Patrick C. Watson
Filed but did not quality for the ballot
[edit]- Rosita Chatonda[9]
Endorsements
[edit]Connie Anderson
Labor unions
References
[edit]- ↑ Amin, Reema (May 27, 2026). "51 people are running for Chicago school board. Many might not make it to Election Day". Chalkbeat. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
- ↑ Ritter, Mary Ellen (May 28, 2026). "TCR's guide to Chicago's November school board elections". The Chicago Reporter. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
- ↑ Camarillo, Emmanuel (April 16, 2026). "Chicago's school board election is coming. What to know, what's at stake". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Incumbent school board member Jennifer Custer bows out of race to be first elected CPS board president". Chalkbeat. August 27, 2026. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Elections & Endorsements". SEIU Illinois State Council. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Karp, Sarah; Koumpilova, Mila (July 13, 2026). "CTU endorses 15 school board candidates, throwing weight behind incumbents, mayoral picks". Chalkbeat Chicago.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Grossman, Kate (September 21, 2026). "Key education endorsements for CPS School Board candidates". WBEZ. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 "School board showdown splits unions". POLITICO Illinois Playbook. August 18, 2026. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Pinzino, Isaiah (July 14, 2026). "Board of Election Commissioners rules five school board candidates won't appear on ballot". Chalkbeat. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
- ↑ "South side Chicago school board candidate removed from ballot, electoral board rules". Chalkbeat. July 28, 2026. Retrieved July 29, 2026.