CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — This Election Day, voters in Chicago will be the first to elect representatives to the city's board of education — and big money is being poured into the races.
School board candidates are running in 10 different districts across Chicago. Becky Vevea, bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago, said the stakes are high.
The Chicago Teachers Union is reportedly spending $1 million alone, and she said they are not the only big spenders.
“We’ve seen the Illinois Network of Charter Schools super PAC spend a lot of money in support of certain candidates that they believe are supportive of charter schools and school choice, which is, essentially, the ability for parents to pick a school that they think fits best for their kids,” Vevea said.
Vevea, whose newsroom collaborated with several others in the city to create a school board elections guide, said there is another political action committee led by, among others, former Chicago Public Schools head and mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. That committee has also been spending money for school choice candidates.
The hybrid school board will take the reins in January 2025.
Get to know the candidates running for the Chicago Board of Education with WBBM’s school board election preview, and find answers to all of the essential voting questions with the Illinois Voters Guide.
The historic school board elections are the topic of this weekend’s edition of “At Issue,” which airs every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.
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