|
| Meet the New School Board |
| | Last week’s election marked the first time Chicagoans voted on the city’s entire school board, marking the end of mayoral control — and the end of the Chicago Teachers Union’s stronghold. | | Here’s how it all shook out. | | Leading up to the Election | It was a dramatic campaign season. | - In the presidential race, all three frontrunners carried some baggage.
- Billionaire influence: Common Ground Collective, a new PAC, spent $7 million against CTU-backed candidates. Local megadonor Michael Sacks funded about $4.7 million of that.
- The Illinois Network of Charter Schools also spent big against CTU, as much as $31 per vote.
| | Election Turnout | Voter turnout for the school board responses was lower than the city’s overall. | - The numbers: More than 568,000 votes were cast citywide for school board president. Fewer than 540,000 were cast across the 20 district races.
- That means about 86% of Chicagoans who voted cast a vote for school board president and about 82% cast a vote in district races. (The city’s total turnout was around 43%.)
- In 2024, when there were 10 district races, about 800,000 people voted for school board candidates, but overall turnout was higher for that general election.
| | The Results | The fully elected school board will include 20 members, plus a new board president. | - Jessica Biggs, a former principal and current board member, won the presidential race with almost 49% of the vote. Biggs was backed by the Service Employees International Union, as well as billionaire Sacks, but she’ll head a varied board.
- A split board: Preliminary results show ten of 20 electees were backed by CTU, a decrease for the union. Seven were endorsed by Common Ground Collective, which spent big on several losses — over $70 per vote in two unsuccessful races on the Northwest Side. INCS also saw costly defeats though many winners are pro-school-choice.
- Big picture: As CTU’s power on the board wanes, the incoming board will likely lean more pro-charter.
- Stay tuned: Some races have yet to be called.
| | |
|
|
|
| | | Everything on your holiday wish list is right in the Middle of Everything. So, bundle up and discover the magic of big light shows in small towns, then take it to Chicago to stroll through Christkindlmarkets and skate along glistening ribbons of ice. This holiday season, your new favorite tradition starts in Illinois. |
|
|
|
| What Chicago's Talking About |
| | | What Happens to Bridgeport if Amtrak Moves Railyard? | The Federal Railroad Administration released its environmental assessment of Amtrak’s plan to move its railyard from South Loop to Bridgeport and Chinatown. It says the impact is negligible. Neighbors disagree. We break down that and more on today’s podcast. [City Cast Chicago 🎧] | | So, Chicagoans Want Permanent Festival Grounds | Not long after rainy Lollapalooza and Riot Fest weekends left park grounds destroyed, 68% of Chicagoans voted in support of constructing permanent fairgrounds (similar to Milwaukee’s Summerfest grounds). But the ballot referendum was nonbinding, and no next steps are clear. [Sun-Times] | - “Madness”: Moving Lollapalooza from Grant Park would lose money — and maybe the fest itself, some argue. [Tribune 🔓]
- However, others say the current system unfairly limits public park access and is simply too costly. [Reader]
| | ‘THIMBY’ Lincoln Parkers Protest Substation | As ComEd plans to build an electrical substation in Lincoln Park, residents are calling it a “windowless industrial fortress.” They want “Transit-oriented Housing In My Backyard,” or THIMBY, instead. However, ComEd owns the land and the electrical grid is nearing its breaking point. [Tribune 🔓] | |
|
|
|
|
|
ICYMI, the Bean did NOT move seven inches over the weekend. (We discussed that meme-y push on today’s podcast.) | |  | Our own Michelle Navarro caught the aftermath of Sunday’s “First Push,” which brought about 250 people to Millennium Park. (Michelle Navarro / City Cast Chicago) |
|
| |
|
|
|
