Chicago Public Schools

Illinois voters headed to the polls Nov. 3, with the race for U.S. Senate between Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Republican Don Tracy topping the ballot after Dick Durbin's retirement, alongside Gov. JB Pritzker's bid for a third term against Trump-endorsed Republican Darren Bailey. Polls were open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can still be counted up to two weeks later. Chicago elected its first fully elected school board, with 21 members across 20 districts plus a citywide board president. Other contests included an open state comptroller race, all 118 Illinois House seats and 39 Senate seats, five open Chicago-area congressional seats, a new Cook County assessor, and Board President Toni Preckwinkle's reelection bid. Democrats currently hold every statewide office and remain favored in most races.

In November, Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the Chicago Board of Education, ending 30 years of mayoral control over the nation's fourth-largest school district. The board sets district vision and priorities—separate from CPS's central office under CEO Macquline King—controlling property tax decisions, budget allocation, hiring and evaluating the district CEO, approving labor contracts and charter agreements, and gathering community input through referendums.

The 21-seat board resulted from 2021 state legislation tripling membership from seven, driven by demands (led by the Chicago Teachers Union) for accountability after controversial appointed-board decisions like the 2013 mass school closures. A 2024 transition elected 10 members alongside 11 mayoral appointees; this fall's election fills all seats via 20 subdistricts, each producing one member. Newly elected members replacing appointees serve two-year terms, while those in subdistricts with 2024 winners serve four years, with terms swapping in 2028. Board members remain unpaid, a point of ongoing debate, even as they oversee a district facing a budget deficit exceeding $700 million.