THE LOOP (WBBM Newsradio) -- The effort to make Chicago's Board of Education a fully-elected body took a step forward Monday, as election clerks begin to accept petition signatures from people who want to run in November's election.
Dozens of current and prospective board members lined up at the city's election super-site, 137 S. State St., starting at 9:00 am to hand in their nominating petitions to be reviewed by the Chicago Board of Elections.
Current board member Therese Boyle was one of the first people in line, in her bid to be awarded the coveted first slot on the ballot: "My opponents are not here as of 9:00, so ... it was worth it!"
Fellow board member Jennifer Custer was just behind Boyle in line, preparing to hand in petitions in her planned run for Board President.
"Educating the city about what's going on is going to be our biggest challenge," Custer said about this fall's election, which will complete the Board's transition from a body with seats appointed by the city's mayor, "making sure that everybody knows what this is and how important this is."
Behind her in line was prospective board member Michelle Pierre, who says her 30 years of experience in education - including her status on the board of the "ChiArts" arts-focused high school have prepared her for this step.
"C-P-S can be a world-class education impacting all children in every single neighborhood ... so I want academic excellence for every single child," Pierre said.
The Board of Elections will be accepting nominating petitions until the middle of next week, and will then hear any legal challenges.
November vote will make Chicago board fully elected
November vote will make Chicago board fully elected
