Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Ed Bannon to this seat, and Bannon, a 55-year-old full-time parent, is running for election in his own right. He’s opposed by retired Chicago police Officer Margie Luczak, 58.
Endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Bannon has been mostly a reliable vote for CTU, including his inexcusable support July 30 of the fiscal 2027 budget that purposefully left a $150 million hole — a reckless gambit meant to put pressure on state lawmakers at their November veto session.
Chicago native (and Chicago Public Schools product) Luczak spent nearly three decades with the Chicago Police Department, is backed by two aldermen in the area, and told Chalkbeat she doesn’t believe “CPS needs more money thrown at them. I think they need to fix the issues that are going on first.”
Voters in this relatively conservative district have as clear a choice as any will in Chicago. Luczak will have much to learn about the inner workings of the nation’s third largest school system if she wins, but we think she best represents this district. Margie Luczak is endorsed.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].