Chicago’s new school board will be inaugurated Wednesday as CPS CEO Pedro Martinez is on the way out and as contract negotiations continue with the Chicago Teachers Union.
The 21-person board will consist of 10 members Chicagoans voted for in the fall and 11 members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Those appointees live in opposite subdistricts of the elected members.
The hybrid body will be in place until the board is fully elected in 2027.
So who are the people responsible for hiring and firing the CPS CEO and approving the district budget? Let’s meet a few of them.
🗳️ = elected
➕ = appointed
District 1, Far Northwest Side
🗳️ Jennifer Custer
Despite being backed by CTU, the former educator has expressed support of Martinez and opposed a short-term loan to cover CPS’ operating costs.
➕ Ed Bannon
The Dunning resident has served on the Dever Elementary School Local School Council and previously ran for 38th Ward alderperson in 2023.
District 2, Far North Side
🗳️ Ebony DeBerry
The CTU-backed community organizer and Rogers Park resident won the city’s most expensive school board race.
➕ Debby Pope
The retired teacher and former CTU staffer will remain on the board after Johnson first appointed her in the fall after the previous board resigned en masse amid tension between the mayor and CPS CEO and over budget concerns.
District 3, Northwest Side
🗳️ Carlos Rivas Jr.
Backed by charter school advocates, the Humboldt Park native supports school choice. Rivas has also been assisting new arrivals in his job at the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and as a foster parent.
➕ Norma Rios-Sierra
Johnson tapped the artist, CPS parent, and activist to represent the district.
District 4, North Side
🗳️ Ellen Rosenfeld
The CPS employee beat out five other candidates to represent the wealthy lakefront district. Rosenfeld had been endorsed by a mix of Democrats and pro–charter school groups.
➕ Karen Zaccor
The retired teacher backed by CTU was the runner-up in the November race. Johnson appointed Zaccor, who is also an activist and former Local Schools Council member.
District 5, West Side
🗳️ Aaron ‘Jitu’ Brown
The education activist ran uncontested to represent the district stretching from West Loop to Austin. Brown also participated in the 2015 hunger strike to reopen Dyett High School in Bronzeville.
➕ Michilla Blaise
Blaise dropped out of the school board race in September only to be appointed to Johnson’s interim board in October. The political consultant will stay on the hybrid board.
District 6, Downtown to South Side
🗳️ Jessica Biggs
The former Burke Elementary School principal clinched the win for the seat that spans from Streeterville to Englewood despite being outspent.
➕ Anusha Thotakura
Johnson appointed the CTU-backed policy advocate after she finished second in the fall election.
District 7, Southwest Side
🗳️ Yesenia Lopez
A graduate of Benito Juárez Community Academy in Pilsen, the executive assistant at the Illinois Secretary of State’s office was also backed by CTU.
➕ Emma Lozano
Johnson appointed the Pilsen pastor and bilingual education advocate to the school board, but it was unclear if Lozano would serve in District 7 or 8. As of Monday afternoon, Johnson has not announced his final appointment.
District 8, Far Southwest Side
🗳️ Angel Gutierrez
Voters decided overwhelmingly to elect the nonprofit consultant to represent the district covering Bridgeport to West Lawn. Gutierrez was outspent by his CTU-backed opponent.
District 9, Far South Side
🗳️ Therese Boyle
The former teacher, who won the four-way race in the fall, is no stranger to elections: Boyle ran against CTU President Stacy Davis Gates for union leadership in 2019.
➕ Frank Niles Thomas
Thomas was appointed to serve on the interim board in the fall after previously working as a 21st Ward Streets and Sanitation superintendent and serving on the Dunne Elementary Local School Council.
Rhymefest at a rally for Laquan McDonald in Chicago in 2016. (Max Herman / NurPhoto / Getty)
District 10, South Side
🗳️ Che ‘Rhymefest’ Smith
The rapper and songwriter may have been the biggest name in the race for Chicago’s first elected school board, but the four-way race was still competitive. Smith urged the interim school board not to fire Martinez late last month.
➕ Olga Bautista
Bautista is another interim board appointee sticking around to stay on the hybrid board. The Southeast Side environmental activist was on a mayoral transition team in 2023 and ran for 10th Ward alder in 2015.
Board President
➕ Sean Harden
Johnson first appointed the South Side native to his interim board after Rev. Mitchell Johnson was asked to leave following controversial social media posts. Harden is staying on to lead the hybrid board.
In addition to finding a new CEO, this board will have to face financial problems so steep that at least one watchdog group is floating the idea of a state takeover of the district.
