Chicago Elects Its Whole School Board Tuesday — All 21 Seats, for the First Time

Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the Chicago Board of Education on Tuesday, Nov. 3 — the first time Chicagoans have elected every member of the board, Ballotpedia reports. Forty-six candidates are running. The board's structure gives every Chicago voter two school board choices: a representative from their own school board district — there are 20 districts — and a board president elected citywide, who represents the board before the public and runs its meetings.

It is the end of a long transition. Before 2024, the mayor appointed the board's members; the 2024 election began the shift with a hybrid board, and Tuesday's vote completes it. The fully elected board takes its seats in January 2027 and inherits real power: Chicago Public Schools is the fourth-largest school district in the country by enrollment, and its board oversees a budget of more than $10 billion, hires the superintendent, approves union contracts, and decides whether to close schools.

Two main blocs are competing for influence on the new board, according to the Chicago Tribune's account as cited by Ballotpedia: candidates aligned with the progressive Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson, and opposing candidates backed by several pro-school-choice groups, including the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, the Common Ground Collective, and the Urban Center. Polls are open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Chicago Public Schools itself is closed for Election Day — the students get the day off while their parents decide who governs their schools.