In addition to the 20 district-specific school board races, all city residents can vote for their preferred choice to lead the Chicago Board of Education. It will be the first time in city history that voters elect the president of the Chicago school board, with the position previously appointed by the mayor.
Board president is the only citywide seat, and the role wields outsized power for the 21-member body by setting the board agenda, which ranges from routine contracts to the district’s billion-dollar budget.
The board oversees 626 schools and 304,000 students in the nation’s third-largest school district.
The candidates
Three candidates are running for school board president: former Chicago Public Schools principal and current board member Jessica Biggs, former Chicago Teachers Union organizer Hilario Dominguez and trial attorney Victor Henderson.
More Top Picks Best Single Stage Snow Blowers
Biggs currently serves as an elected board member representing District 6B, which stretches from the Loop to Englewood. She is also a director at the Southwest Organizing Project.
Dominguez was a CPS special education teacher before he became a CTU staffer. Most recently, he was the union’s deputy political director and played a key role in the 2023 campaign for Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a former CTU organizer.
Henderson is a longtime white-collar civil litigation attorney. He has also served on the board of charter school network Urban Prep Academies.
The incumbent, Sean Harden, was handpicked by Johnson in December 2024, shortly after the entire previous board resigned. He is the only board member not running in November to keep his seat.
Who will be the next Chicago school board president? Meet the candidates.
Jessica Biggs
What are your top three priorities if elected?
- Put students and their learning first, setting clear district goals and holding district leadership accountable.
- A board that actually governs. Set goals, pass aligned policy, adopt a responsible budget, and evaluate the CEO against public criteria.
- A responsible path to long-term financial stability and a shared multiyear recovery plan.
Do you support continuing the moratorium on school closings? YES / NO
I was a CPS principal during the 2013 mass closures and saw firsthand how damaging that process was to entire communities. As president, I will never allow a top-down mass closure of schools. Springfield should not handcuff CPS about school buildings – we should have the local authority to determine the building needs to serve our students best.
Do you support the Chicago Board of Education’s decision this summer to budget an additional $150 million in state funding to reverse layoffs and prevent a spending freeze? YES / NO
Passing a CPS budget that depends on $150 million in state funding that does not exist was incredibly reckless. I was a principal the last time CPS tried this irresponsible maneuver, and I know how damaging the resulting midyear cuts can be to students and families. We need to get our fiscal house in order.
Should CPS continue raising its property tax levy to the legal limit? YES / NO
Schools in Chicago rely too heavily on property taxes because the state fails to pay an adequate share of education costs. My goal is to ensure Springfield pays its share so we can finally relieve pressure on local property taxes. To do that, CPS must operate efficiently and ensure dollars are spent in the classroom – not on administration.
Read the Tribune’s full candidate profile on Jessica Biggs.
Hilario Dominguez
What are your top three priorities if elected?
- Universal full-day pre-K starting at age 3.
- Better school food, starting with rebidding a $100M contract for meals students throw away.
- Paid work opportunities for every high school student before they graduate.
Do you support continuing the moratorium on school closings? YES / NO
Closing 50 schools in 2013 did not save the money we were promised, and the harm to communities was real. Falling enrollment is a symptom of disinvestment, not an argument for more of it. Sustainable community schools are already anchoring schools as hubs in their communities and we need to scale the program.
Do you support the Chicago Board of Education’s decision this summer to budget an additional $150 million in state funding to reverse layoffs and prevent a spending freeze? YES / NO
Plenty of money in a public budget is anticipated, including TIF (tax increment financing) dollars. That money is owed to us under the state’s own formula, and budgeting it says so publicly rather than quietly absorbing another shortfall. It has bought us time, and the board owes the public a real fight in Springfield to get it done.
Should CPS continue raising its property tax levy to the legal limit? YES / NO
Yes, when the alternative is layoffs, closures or further disinvestment. But Chicago homeowners are covering for Springfield’s failure to fund its own formula. Families pay twice, once in property taxes and again in what their children aren’t receiving. The durable answer is state money and progressive revenue, not local taxpayers.
More Top Picks Best Kids Storage Bins For Toys
Read the Tribune’s full candidate profile on Hilario Dominguez.
Victor Henderson
What are your top three priorities if elected?
- Improve reading and math outcomes by measuring what works and expanding effective programs.
- Restore fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability to Chicago Public Schools.
- Ensure every student has access to a safe, high-quality education regardless of their zip code.
Do you support continuing the moratorium on school closings? YES / NO
I would not support an indefinite blanket moratorium. Closing a school should be a last resort, considered only after transparent review of enrollment, academic quality, facility conditions, costs, student safety and community impact, with a clear transition plan for affected students and families.
Do you support the Chicago Board of Education’s decision this summer to budget an additional $150 million in state funding to reverse layoffs and prevent a spending freeze? YES / NO
Protecting classrooms and avoiding unnecessary layoffs should be priorities, but CPS should not balance its budget on revenue that has not been appropriated or committed. We should aggressively pursue additional state funding while making budget decisions based on reliable revenue and responsible planning.
Should CPS continue raising its property tax levy to the legal limit? YES / NO
CPS should not automatically raise property taxes to the legal maximum each year. Before asking taxpayers for more, the board should demonstrate fiscal discipline, transparency and measurable results, while pursuing the state funding Chicago students are entitled to receive.
Read the Tribune’s full candidate profile on Victor Henderson.