← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Illinois
Insufficient record — roster only
The race
This is the flagship school-board election in America this year. On November 3, 2026, Chicago elects all 20 district members of the Chicago Board of Education plus a Board President chosen citywide — 21 seats — in the first fully elected board in the board's history, following the 2024 election in which half the board was elected for the first time. The 20 districts are paired subdistricts (1A/1B through 10A/10B); each district's voters elect their own member, and every Chicago voter also votes for Board President. Terms are staggered by design: members elected in the districts where the 2024-elected incumbent sits serve four-year terms, and members in the districts where the incumbent was mayor-appointed serve two-year terms, with staggered four-year elections from 2028.
The scale of the field: 45 candidates for the 21 seats, per the Focal News questionnaire count cited in our inventory, and five districts uncontested, per Chalkbeat — including District 4B, where Ellen Rosenfeld is unopposed, and District 8A, where Angel Gutierrez is unopposed. The per-district rosters and endorsements below are from the 2026 Chicago Board of Education election page compiled from Chalkbeat Chicago, WBEZ, and Politico Illinois reporting (compilation grade, cited below) — the fullest sourcing of any race in this tier.
The honest structure of this election, visible in the endorsement record itself, is a contest between two organized coalitions. On one side, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has endorsed a slate, largely incumbents and mayoral picks, per Chalkbeat. On the other side, a reform coalition — the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, The Urban Center, Common Ground Collective, and in several districts IUOE Local 150 and the SEIU Illinois State Council — backs the challengers and the choice-friendly incumbents. Endorsements by named organizations are facts, and in this race they are nearly the whole sourced record: where a candidate carries the charter-school-choice PAC's endorsement against a CTU-endorsed opponent, that is a sourced alignment with school choice, one of the values this series endorses on. Our per-district calls below follow exactly that rule, and no other.
The candidates
Board President (citywide) — Jessica Biggs, an incumbent Board member, endorsed by the SEIU Illinois State Council. Hilario Dominguez, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Victor Henderson, declared, with no endorsement listed in the source. (Two earlier candidates withdrew: incumbent Jennifer Custer and Sendhil Revuluri, the latter endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education before withdrawing.)
District 1A — Ed Bannon, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and the SEIU Illinois State Council. Margie B. Luczak, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center.
District 1B — Claudia Peralta, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and the SEIU Illinois State Council. Michelle N. Pierre, endorsed by Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, Leadership for Educational Equity, and The Urban Center.
District 2A — Ebony DeBerry, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, the SEIU Illinois State Council, and ONE People's Campaign. Bruce Leon, no endorsement listed. Hector Morales, endorsed by Common Ground Collective and The Urban Center.
District 2B — Daniel Basco, no endorsement listed. Kyna Lenhof, endorsed by Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center. Debby Pope, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and ONE People's Campaign.
District 3A — Peter Gonzales, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center. Norma Rios Sierra, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and the SEIU Illinois State Council.
District 3B — Jason Dónes, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Our Schools PAC. Carlos Rivas Jr., the incumbent Board member, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, Leadership for Educational Equity, and The Urban Center.
District 4A — Angel Alvarez, no endorsement listed. Ellen Sherratt, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center. Karen Zaccor, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, ONE People's Campaign, and Our Schools PAC.
District 4B — Ellen Rosenfeld, the incumbent Board member, the district's only declared candidate, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, Leadership for Educational Equity PAC, and The Urban Center.
District 5A — Aaron "Jitu" Brown, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. LaPamela Williams, endorsed by Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center.
District 5B — Michilla "Kyla" Blaise, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Our Schools PAC. Anthony Hargrove, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center.
District 6A — Brenda Lee Anderson, endorsed by Leadership for Educational Equity PAC. Anusha Thotakura, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, the SEIU Illinois State Council, and Our Schools PAC. Isaiah White, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center.
District 6B — Brittany B. Kimble, endorsed by The Urban Center. Michael L. Neal, endorsed by Common Ground Collective. Neither carries a CTU endorsement or a charter-school-choice PAC endorsement in the source.
District 7A — Jesus Ayala Jr., endorsed by the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, Leadership for Educational Equity PAC, and The Urban Center. Emma Lozano, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
District 7B — Erika E. Diaz-Chavez, endorsed by the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC. Yesenia Lopez, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by the SEIU Illinois State Council.
District 8A — Angel Gutierrez, the incumbent Board member, the district's only declared candidate, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center.
District 8B — Juan Ignacio Gonzalez, the district's only declared ballot candidate, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, and The Urban Center. Alexander Angeles is a write-in candidate. The incumbent, Cydney Wallace, filed but did not qualify for the ballot.
District 9A — Brittany Preston, the district's only declared candidate, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, and The Urban Center. The incumbent, Angel L. Velez, filed but did not qualify for the ballot.
District 9B — Therese Boyle, the incumbent Board member, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, Leadership for Educational Equity PAC, and The Urban Center. Katherine S. Dunneback, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Our Schools PAC.
District 10A — Che "Rhymefest" Smith, the incumbent Board member, the district's only declared ballot candidate, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, the SEIU Illinois State Council, Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network for Charter Schools PAC, and The Urban Center. Tameka Walton, who filed but did not qualify for the ballot, announced a write-in candidacy; she is endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
District 10B — Connie Anderson, endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Patrick C. Watson, endorsed by IUOE Local 150, Common Ground Collective, and The Urban Center — reform-coalition backing, but no charter-school-choice PAC endorsement in the source.
Pros / Cons
- The CTU-endorsed candidates — Pro: The teachers union's slate is organized, resourced, and in most districts carries the experience of incumbency — these are the people who have sat on the hybrid board. Con: The CTU is the district's labor counterparty. A board majority endorsed by the union that negotiates against the board is a structural conflict on every contract, budget, and school-closing vote — and it is the opposite of an independent check on the system parents deal with.
- The charter-choice-endorsed candidates — Pro: Their named backing — the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC, with The Urban Center and Common Ground Collective — is a sourced alignment with school choice and with a reform coalition that also draws IUOE Local 150 and SEIU support in many districts; this is not a one-interest slate. Con: Endorsements are alignments, not governing records; most of these candidates have never held the office, so on our own proven/unproven line they are unproven — endorsed on a sourced value alignment, and watched accordingly.
- The unopposed incumbents (Rosenfeld, 4B; Gutierrez, 8A) — Pro: Both carry the reform coalition's endorsements and there is no opponent to weigh. Con: An uncontested seat is a accountability gap by definition; voters in those districts get no choice to make, and we note it rather than celebrate it.
OUR CALL
Our rule for this race, stated once and applied district by district: we endorse the candidate carrying the Illinois Network for Charter Schools Action PAC endorsement where that endorsement stands against a CTU-endorsed opponent — a sourced school-choice alignment against the union slate. Where no candidate carries that endorsement, or the seat is uncontested, we make no endorsement and say why.
- Board President: insufficient record — no endorsement. Biggs carries SEIU backing, Dominguez carries the CTU's, and Henderson carries none listed; no candidate carries a sourced school-choice alignment, and a citywide presidency is not a call we make on a union-vs-union endorsement split.
- District 1A: endorse Margie B. Luczak (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed Bannon).
- District 1B: endorse Michelle N. Pierre (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed Peralta).
- District 2A: insufficient record — no endorsement. Morales carries reform-coalition backing (Common Ground, Urban Center) but no charter-choice PAC endorsement in the source; DeBerry is the CTU-endorsed incumbent.
- District 2B: endorse Kyna Lenhof (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed incumbent Pope).
- District 3A: endorse Peter Gonzales (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed incumbent Rios Sierra).
- District 3B: endorse Carlos Rivas Jr. (charter-choice PAC endorsed incumbent, vs. CTU-endorsed Dónes).
- District 4A: endorse Ellen Sherratt (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed incumbent Zaccor).
- District 4B: no endorsement — uncontested. Rosenfeld is the only declared candidate; her reform-coalition endorsements are noted above.
- District 5A: endorse LaPamela Williams (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed incumbent Brown).
- District 5B: endorse Anthony Hargrove (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed incumbent Blaise).
- District 6A: endorse Isaiah White (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed incumbent Thotakura).
- District 6B: insufficient record — no endorsement. Neither candidate carries a CTU or charter-choice PAC endorsement in the source.
- District 7A: endorse Jesus Ayala Jr. (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. CTU-endorsed incumbent Lozano).
- District 7B: endorse Erika E. Diaz-Chavez (charter-choice PAC endorsed, vs. incumbent Lopez).
- District 8A: no endorsement — uncontested. Gutierrez is the only declared candidate; his reform-coalition endorsements are noted above.
- District 8B: no endorsement — effectively uncontested on the ballot. Gonzalez is the only declared ballot candidate, with a write-in filed; his charter-choice PAC endorsement is noted above.
- District 9A: no endorsement — uncontested. Preston is the only declared candidate.
- District 9B: insufficient record — no endorsement, on our stated rule. Boyle, the incumbent, carries the reform coalition's labor and organizational endorsements against a CTU-endorsed challenger — but no charter-school-choice PAC endorsement appears for her in the source, and we apply the rule as written rather than bend it for a sympathetic incumbent. Her file is the strongest of the no-endorsement districts, and we flag it as such.
- District 10A: no endorsement — effectively uncontested on the ballot. Smith is the only declared ballot candidate, with a CTU-endorsed write-in announced; his charter-choice endorsements are noted above.
- District 10B: insufficient record — no endorsement. Watson carries reform-coalition backing against CTU-endorsed Anderson, but no charter-choice PAC endorsement in the source.
Eleven district endorsements, every one of them resting on the same sourced fact pattern, stated in the open. That is what a roster with real endorsement reporting lets us do — and its absence is why most races in this tier honestly end at insufficient record.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Chalkbeat Chicago + Wikipedia — 2026 Chicago Board of Education election: full per-district rosters, incumbency, withdrawals, and endorsements, compiled from Chalkbeat Chicago, WBEZ (Kate Grossman, "Key education endorsements for CPS School Board candidates," Sep. 21, 2026), and Politico Illinois Playbook reporting (accessed October 25, 2026) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Chicago_Board_of_Education_election
- Focal News candidate questionnaire count (45 candidates) and Chalkbeat's uncontested-district reporting, as cited in our inventory — roster grade: compilation
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.