Chicago Teachers Union Candidates Win Six Board Seats, Fall Short in President Race

Chicago Teachers Union-backed candidates secured six of the 21 Chicago Public Schools board seats in the November 3 elections. The union is also leading in four additional races, a result that positions its candidates to form a 10-member bloc. This grouping would be sufficient to create strong opposition to measures like classroom cuts and school closures, which the union views as contrary to its progressive agenda.

Despite these district-level gains, the CTU lost the race for board president. Jessica Biggs, a current board member and former principal, defeated Hilario Dominguez, the CTU's candidate for the role. Biggs received $1 million from Michael Sacks, a billionaire and former advisor to Rahm Emanuel, though she was not formally endorsed by his political group, Common Ground Collective. Sacks and Common Ground Collective poured $6.8 million into the campaign over the past two months. The group won three contested races and endorsed five unopposed candidates. Biggs will need a two-thirds majority to overturn resolutions from the sitting board at its final meeting in December.

The current school board, half of which is appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson and aligned with the CTU, may approve a moratorium on school closings before the new board is seated on Jan. 15. This move could limit the incoming board's flexibility regarding future budget cuts. The CTU did not field candidates in five of the 20 district races due to ballot challenges and strategic decisions. The union was outspent by a ratio of 4 to 1, with Sacks alone contributing more than $8 million to the races.

Biggs campaigned as a consensus-builder, citing support from a broad coalition that includes the Service Employees International Union. In her victory speech, she noted that families are tired of chaos and uncertainty. She stated that voters want stability, schools they can trust, teachers who are supported, and leaders who put kids first. Biggs will now have to work with a teachers union that remains influential but potentially dissatisfied. CTU officials and board members may recall that Biggs did not speak out against Common Ground Collective commercials that ran half-truths about a misconduct allegation against Dominguez. Those ads continued to air even after the CPS inspector general found the allegations unsubstantiated.

Retired teacher and incumbent Karen Zaccor won her re-election bid in District 4a, which covers parts of Uptown and Lake View. Zaccor said few voters questioned her CTU endorsement during door-knocking. She noted that many residents were teachers or had family in the profession. Zaccor received $34,000 from the Our Schools political group, while a trio of anti-CTU groups spent more than $700,000 to support her opponent or oppose her. Debby Pope, another incumbent and former teacher, was also re-elected in District 2b.

Connie Anderson won the race for District 10b on the Far Southeast Side. Anderson, a mother, said she connected with working-class families who supported her message of equitable, student-centered schools. She defeated Patrick Watson, a legislative aide, despite raising significantly less money. Watson received about $500,000 from anti-CTU groups, four times the amount Anderson received from CTU-funded sources. The new board must address a budget that relies on $150 million in uncommitted state revenue. The state legislature has not yet approved additional funds and returns to Springfield for a veto session next week. If the money does not arrive, the board may face choices between staff furloughs and midyear layoffs to balance the district's $732 million deficit.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said the union will be in Springfield to fight for the state funding regardless of the election results. Hal Woods, chief of policy at Kids First, said board members face difficult decisions on how to close any budget gap. He asked whether the board would cut teachers or aides, noting that such decisions create tough positions when parents and teachers argue that cuts mean closing their schools.