Millions of dollars are flowing into the races for Chicago’s first fully elected school board, with $5.9 million going directly to candidates since last fall and another $6.8 million being spent by independent expenditure groups.
What to know before you vote in Chicago’s elected school board races
Super PACs, also called independent expenditure committees, can spend unlimited amounts of money but can’t coordinate directly with campaigns.
Three pro-school-choice super PACs have spent big to oppose candidates backed by the Chicago Teachers Union — including nearly $2.3 million in ads targeting Hilario Dominguez, the union’s pick for school board president.
Meanwhile, CTU’s political action committee, along with the affiliated Our Schools PAC, have poured a combined $1.1 million directly to candidates’ coffers since July.
The union was by far the biggest spender in the 2024 school board races, funneling $4.3 million into 10 district races. But this time around — with all 21 board seats on the ballot — most CTU-backed candidates are outspent, at least so far. The bulk of the union’s resources have been put behind its former political director, Dominguez. Other groups, meanwhile, aren’t sitting on their money.
It’s part of a broader tussle over the direction of Chicago Public Schools, transitioning from decades of mayoral control to a fully elected school board. Opponents of CTU and its ally, Mayor Brandon Johnson, are seeking to wrest control of their board majority.
A whopping $5.3 million has been funneled into the citywide race for board president, including outside spending and fundraising by the three candidates: Dominguez, current board member Jessica Biggs and attorney Victor Henderson. That figure accounts for both cash donations and in-kind support, such as free goods or services.
Biggs, a former CPS principal, has raised just over $1 million since last fall, buoyed by $160,000 from SEIU Illinois, the union representing school support employees. This month, she also received $400,000 from billionaire Democratic donor Michael Sacks, an adviser to former Mayor Rahm Emanuel who has opposed CTU’s influence on the board.
Biggs said in a statement earlier this week she was “proud of the broad coalition we’ve built” and “grateful to the hundreds of individual donors who have invested in my vision for a CPS focused on student success, not political games.”
Dominguez has raised $993,000, almost entirely from the union. Echoing a CTU line of attack, he criticized the involvement of the ultrawealthy in the race. “Parents didn’t fight this hard for the chance to vote for an elected school board just to have mayoral control transfer to billionaire control,” he said in a statement.
Henderson did not file a quarterly report, but his latest fundraising figures show he raised just $13,000 since July, bringing his total haul to $672,000. He has largely self-funded his campaign, taking out $500,000 in loans earlier this year. On the campaign trail, Henderson has held up his independence from labor unions and other interest groups as an asset.
Common Ground Collective, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and The Urban Center — the three groups spending heavily to counter CTU’s influence on the board — haven’t endorsed in the presidential race. But Biggs and Henderson have indirectly benefited from spending targeting Dominguez, with over $1.8 million from Common Ground and $450,000 from INCS.
Common Ground, which describes itself as promoting “effective progressive policies,” is heavily funded by Sacks. The group’s super PAC has poured more than $3.9 million into the race, making it the biggest spender so far.
Juan Rangel, CEO of The Urban Center, said the race boils down to electing a school board “independent from the powerful interest that is (CTU).” To date, the group’s super PAC has spent $138,000 on text messaging supporting candidates. He rejected CTU’s criticism that ultrarich donors are flooding the race with outside money.
“It’s a lot of smoke that gets thrown out. It’s political rhetoric,” Rangel said. “I’m sure they would have no issues if some of the business communities would throw money at them.”
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The legislators who crafted Chicago’s elected school board drew 20 district races in part to curb the influence of special interest groups. But that didn’t account for the political reality, according to INCS President Andrew Broy. The group’s independent spending arm has shelled out nearly $2.1 million, and it still has more than $3 million in its coffers. In July, the super PAC received a $1.75 million donation from Jim Frank, an INCS board member and former CEO of Wheels Inc.
Broy called the high cost of a citywide campaign “unfortunate,” but said significant outside spending was inevitable.
“That’s what (former President Barack) Obama always said about fundraising, right?” Broy said. “He’d say, ‘Look, I don’t set the system up, but I’m not going to walk away from the system because the stakes are too high.’”
Big money pours into district races
That infusion of cash has also trickled down to district-level races. In 13 of 20 districts, contribution limits have been lifted, which happens when super PACs spend more than $100,000 in a race. Outside of the race for board president, about $975,000 has been spent on mailers and digital ads opposing CTU-backed candidates, almost entirely by Common Ground.
“Hugely outspent is an understatement,” said Pavlyn Jankov, CTU’s research director. “The reality is we can’t compete with billionaires.”
Jankov said the union is focused on mobilizing its boots-on-the-ground support for candidates: knocking on doors, distributing flyers and getting out the vote. “We’re going to keep our focus on the legwork we do know how to do in Chicago, and talk to our communities,” he added.
Most of CTU’s cash comes from member dues. The union attempted to raise dues this spring, in part to bolster political spending, but the measure was ultimately voted down.
To date, nine of the 14 CTU-endorsed candidates at the district level have raised less than their opponents, though the size of the gap varies by race.
The most expensive race is District 4A on the North Side, where three candidates are running to represent parts of Lakeview, Edgewater and Uptown. Education consultant Ellen Sherratt, has amassed a $190,000 war chest, more than any other candidate. CTU-backed incumbent Karen Zaccor has raised $94,000 to date, including $38,000 from CTU and Our Schools PAC.
SEIU has emerged as another a key player in this year’s race. The union, which represents support staff in CPS, gave $315,000 to its endorsed candidates from July to September, according its most recent quarterly report.
The union has also funded a new super PAC, Brighter Futures Chicago, chaired by SEIU Illinois State Council Executive Director Anthony Driver. The super PAC has so far put $692,000 behind SEIU-endorsed candidates, including $375,000 for field work and ads to support Biggs.
Many of the races where Brighter Futures is investing pit SEIU-backed candidates against CTU-backed candidates. The two progressive unions were once allies, but their relationship blew up last year amid a turf war over district employees. But Driver said Brighter Futures’ spending decisions aren’t tied to tensions with CTU.
“We look at the landscape and make a strategic assessment about where we can be the most effective, and help support our champions who stand up for public education and workers,” Driver said. “Working people deserve to have a voice in this election cycle.”