Chicago elects 10 school board members for 1st time; CTU-backed candidates win only 4 seats

CHICAGO (WLS) -- History was made as Chicago voters elected city school board members for the first time on Tuesday.

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The 10 winners will join 11 members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

The Chicago Teachers Union poured close to $2 million into the races, but only four of their candidates won.

Victorious candidates not backed by the CTU congratulated each other Tuesday.

"It was a clear message that the city does not want candidates that are beholden to Stacy Davis Gates," said Hugo Jacobo, Chicago Democrats for Education.

Jacobo's organization backed seven independent candidates. Three won, including Carlos Rivas in District 3, which includes Humboldt Park, Logan Square and Hermosa. In an upset, he beat CTU-backed Jason Donas.

"I'm a firm believer in having choice for families and that's what I heard from families," Rivas said.

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At the beginning of his campaign, Rivas took a $13,000 donation from the Illinois Network for Charter Schools. CTU says the organization is backed by out of state Republican billionaires.

"This is a true case o fpeople versus privatizer," said Jason Donas, rival.

But Donas received more than $250,000 from the CTU and its allied Super PACs. Rivas said the money was used to send out mailers tying Rivas to Donald Trump, which Rivas said was hurtful as a lifelong Democrat. He said most of his donations were from friends and family.

"My biggest and first big check that I got was actually from my elementary school principal, who served at Lowell for over 20 years and has known me since I was in fifth grade," he said.

While independent board candidates did well, four of the CTU's backed candidates did win. They join 11 other members appointed by Johnson, himself a former teacher and CTU organizer.

"Politics is addition, so we are sending more of us to be leaders of us," Davis Gates said.

The elected members will join the board in January. The hybrid board will not be on place too long. Voters go back to the polls in 2026 to elect all 21 school board members; they will be seated in 2027.

They will deal with a lot of controversy that has rocked the board recently. Last week, the newly appointed president resigned over controversial social media posts.