Chicago’s 2024 school board elections: The latest list of candidates

Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest education news.

Chicago school board candidates have submitted petitions for the city’s first school board elections on Nov. 5.

School board hopefuls need 1,000 valid signatures from residents of their district in order for their name to be printed on the ballot. The deadline to submit signatures was June 24 at 5p.m.

To learn more about the new school board districts and find out which one you live in, Chalkbeat created an interactive map.

Many candidates have also begun fundraising for their campaigns, reporting contributions to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Here are the candidates running in each district, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.

This list will be updated.

District 1

Jennifer Custer, a CPS parent and former teacher, union leader, and school administrator in the Chicago suburbs
Michelle N. Pierre, a CPS parent and Local School Council member, executive director at New Leaders, a training program for school leaders, former charter school leader, and former district administrator in Cleveland

District 2

Ebony L. DeBerry, director of educational initiatives at ONE Northside, former CPS teacher, parent, and Local School Council member
Kate Doyle, a former special education teacher, co-founder and CEO of youth career development nonprofit KindWork, and Vice President of the Greater Rockwell Organization
Margaret “Maggie” Cullerton Hooper, a CPS parent, Local School Council member, and senior consultant for the Alliance for Black Equality PAC
Bruce Leon, founder of human resources firm and 50th Ward Democratic committeeperson, and a board member of Arie Crown Hebrew Day School

District 3

Jason C. Dónes, chief of people operations at non-profit Beyond 100K, former teacher and leader at Teach for America
Carlos A. Rivas Jr., a spokesperson for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and former alumni counselor at UIC College Prep, a Noble charter school

District 4

Kimberly Brown, a marketing professional, adjunct professor, and CPS parent
Andrew A. Davis, a nonprofit leader, CPS parent, and former LSC member
Thomas Day, a CPS parent, co-founder of Illinois Veterans for Change
Carmen Gioiosa, a CPS parent, Local School Council member, adjunct professor, former CPS administrator, and former CPS teacher
Ellen Rosenfeld, a family and community engagement manager at Chicago Public Schools, a CPS parent, and former CPS teacher
Karen Zaccor, a teacher at Uplift High School and former LSC member

District 5

Aaron “Jitu” Brown, a community organizer with Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, director of the Journey for Justice Alliance, and a Dyett hunger striker

District 6

Jessica Biggs, a CPS parent and former teacher and school principal
Andre Smith, an entrepreneur and recent candidate for Illinois House 5th District
Anusha Thotakura, a deputy director at Citizen Action/Illinois and former teacher

District 7

Raquel Don, a CPS parent and Local School Council member
Yesenia López, a Latino outreach director with Gov J.B. Pritzker’s campaign
Eva A. Villalobos, an accountant and private school parent

District 8

Angel Gutierrez, chief advancement officer at Chicago Hope Academy, a private high school, and a former leader at Catholic Charities of Archdiocese of Chicago
Felix Ponce, a CPS music teacher and professional trombonist

District 9

Therese Boyle, a school psychologist and former candidate for CTU president
Miquel Lewis, acting director of Cook County Juvenile Probation & Court Services and former appointed member of Chicago Board of Education, current member of Special Education Advisory Committee
Lanetta M. Thomas, a community activist

District 10

Robert Jones, a pastor at Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church and a Dyett hunger striker
Karin Norington-Reaves, a CPS parent and consultant, former candidate in Illinois’s 1st congressional district
Adam Parrott-Sheffer, a CPS parent, adjunct lecturer at Harvard, author, former principal in CPS and the Chicago suburbs, former district administrator in New York City
Che “Rhymefest” Smith, a Grammy-award winning songwriter, rapper and community activist

UPDATE: As of Friday, Sept. 6, the following candidates have voluntarily withdrawn or been removed from the ballot:

Chuck Hernandez, Republican committeeman of the 38th Ward on the city’s North West side and retired detective with the Chicago Police Department (District 1)
Daniel Steven Kleinman, community organizer and Local School Council member (District 2)
Kirk J. Ortiz, vice president of a private security company and former candidate for Illinois House District 4 (District 3)
Michilla “Kyla” Blaise, a CPS parent, chief of staff for Cook County Commissioner Frank J. Aguilar, political consultant, and public relations professional (District 5)
Anthony Hargrove, an associate director of the Back To Our Future program at nonprofit Breakthrough Urban Ministries and former dean at Chicago Public Schools (District 5)
Kernetha Jones, a retired CPS teacher (District 5)
Jousef M. Shkoukani, an attorney and founder of an education nonprofit Unified Under Hope (District 5)
Brenda I. Delgado, a CPS parent, vice president of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, and former Local School Council member (District 6)
Danielle Wallace, a community youth advocate and non-profit leader (District 6)
Felipe “Phil” Luna Jr., a management systems specialist for the Illinois Department of Public Health and Local School Council member (District 7)
Jesus Ayala Jr., chief of program and strategy operations at Metrosquash (District 7)
Darius Dee Nix, interim impact director for City Year Chicago, former CPS charter school teacher, former candidate in Illinois’s 1st congressional district (District 8)
Brittany Bailey Preston, a construction manager and Local School Council member (District 9)
La’Mont Raymond Williams, chief of staff and general counsel to Cook County Commissioner Bill Lowry (District 9)
Rosita Chatonda, nonprofit founder and teacher advocate, former CPS teacher and former teachers union organizer (District 10)
James M. Walton, a former school principal and administrator in CPS and the Chicago suburbs (District 10)
Nathaniel “Nate” Ward, director of community outreach & engagement for City Colleges of Chicago, CPS parent, and Local School Council member (District 10)