CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — With the 2024 election in its final stretch, elected officials, candidates and others are speaking out about the massive spending that political action committees are pouring into races for the Chicago Board of Education.
Illinois Sen. Robert Martwick authored the bill that eventually led to what will be Chicago’s first-ever elected school board. From the start, though, he said lawmakers were worried that rich outsiders would try to control the outcomes.
“Everyone knew that if a school district of the importance of the Chicago Public Schools were to be corrupted with outside money, that would not lead to good results, and that’s exactly what we have going on here,” he said.
Chicago Congresswoman Delia Ramirez joined others in condemning political action committees from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS), former Schools Chief Paul Vallas and billionaire business people for getting involved.
“The very same people that did everything in their power to block an elected representative school board in Springfield are at it again,” Ramirez said. “This time, what they’re doing is they’re trying to buy the election.”
Martwick hopes to pass legislation limiting contributions to such contests, and a livid state Sen. Celina Villanueva echoed that sentiment.
“Education is a right for our kids, and having a quality education is a right for our children, for our families, for our communities,” she said. “That is what we fight for.”
Andrew Broy, who heads the INCS’ political arm, said it was ironic that groups allied with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) are complaining about the involvement of political action committees and billionaires in the city’s school board races. Broy said the CTU is spending more money on the school board elections than his group.
Although the INCS opposed initial plans for an elected school board in Chicago, Broy said they want to make sure student-centered decisions are made.
“This current CPS school board has begun dismantling a lot of the ingredients of success over the past 20 years,” he said. “Things like summative school evaluation, prioritizing high quality school of choice, making sure principals have the tools and autonomy to make decisions at the sight level. All of these ingredients have led to dramatic increases in student enrollment and student achievement.”
He said they are backing candidates who would get back to that.
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