Bill for an elected CPS board fails again
Backers express outrage, cast the blame on Lightfoot
As the Illinois General Assembly’s lame-duck session wound down Wednesday without a vote on a bill that would give Chicago Public Schools an elected board of education, proponents accused Mayor Lori Lightfoot of “scheming to kill” the bill.
A collective of community groups uniting as the Grassroots Education Movement, along with the Chicago Teachers Union, have spent recent days campaigning for Senate President Don Harmon to call the bill for a vote, saying it is widely supported by senators and that he was stalling its passage.
“We are outraged that despite widespread public support, support from two thirds of the State Senate, and a Mayor that ran on a campaign promise of an elected school board, HB2267 was once again not called for a vote,” begins a statement released Wednesday by the Grassroots Education Movement. “Chicago will remain the only school district in Illinois without an elected school board.”
The groups also questioned Lightfoot’s prior statements indicating support for an elected board and claimed that the bill never got a chance to become law because of her administration’s efforts to sway senators in favor of a hybrid board.
The mayor’s office provided a statement saying Lightfoot continues to have significant concerns about the bill, which includes provisions “that could make the body unworkable.” Lightfoot’s office did not clarify if she supports a fully elected board or a hybrid of elected and appointed members.
“With her own mother having served as a member of an elected school board, Mayor Lightfoot understands the importance of democratic input into public education,” a spokeswoman said. “The Mayor has stated that any elected school board must guarantee representation from parents and other key stakeholders and feels strongly that the current proposal would lead to instability for CPS.”
The mayor and CPS administration need to have input on any legislation with such direct implications, the statement continued: “With so much at stake for the future of public education, the Mayor strongly believes that the dialogue around this legislation must continue until a fair solution that benefits our children can be reached.”
Harmon has not responded to a message seeking comment.
“Chicagoans took Mayor Lightfoot at her word, and, unfortunately, she has proven unworthy of that trust,” according to the Grassroots Education Movement statement. “The Mayor operated in the dark, went against her campaign promise, and pushed for a hybrid board.”
When Lightfoot announced a hand-picked new school board shortly after taking office in 2019, the mayor said she still supported the elected school board she backed in her campaign, but that it would require a change in state law.
Yet she opposed a bill passed in the House that year that would have created a 21-member elected board, calling the proposal “unwieldy.” Ever since, the teachers union — which is currently battling the mayor and CPS over the reopening of schools — has made the issue a regular talking point, insisting that elected board members would better represent CPS families.
The bill, which was resurrected this year, set out that 21 members would be chosen in consolidated primary elections in 2023 and 2027. The city would be divided into 20 districts with locally selected representatives, with the president elected at large. By June 2029, legislators would have to review the matter and reauthorize the practice of electing the board. Without reauthorization, the board in 2031 would revert to a sevenmember body appointed by the mayor.
Earlier this week, the Grassroots Education Movement livestreamed a protest and news conference outside Harmon’s offices.
“When will we have accountability to the public? Why are Chicago politicians so afraid of democracy?” said Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance. “… The corporate community decided for Black and brown and working-class parents what their schools should look like. To have mayoral control is a continuation of that culture. To have a hybrid school board is a continuation of mayoral control. We want democracy. We don’t have a hybrid city council, we don’t have a hybrid state legislature.”
The grassroots groups likened forcing an appointed board to voter suppression.
“Chicago’s 25-year experiment with an unelected school board through mayoral control has been a disaster. School closings, turnarounds and consolidations have disrupted the education for thousands of low-income students of color and contributed to the purge of 250,000 Black people from Chicago since 2000,” their statement says.
The Grassroots Education Movement includes Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, Action Now, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Enlace Chicago, Grassroots Collaborative, Illinois Families for Public Schools, Journey for Justice, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Lugenia Burns Hope Center, Northside Action 4 Justice, Parents 4 Teachers and Pilsen Alliance.