This story was reported and published in collaboration with WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom covering Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Stay informed with Chalkbeat Chicago’s newsletter, WBEZ and the Sun-Times’ education newsletter, and Block Club Chicago’s newsletters.
When Che “Rhymefest” Smith won a seat on the school board two years ago, he proudly wore the moniker of an independent after triumphing over candidates with support from the Chicago Teachers Union and the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.
“I will tell you that my connections in the community got me here, my work got me here,” said the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist turned activist and politician. “Money didn’t get me here.”
This time is different. Smith will be the lone name on the ballot to represent District 10a. Stretching from Bronzeville to South Shore, the district includes some of the South Side’s most sought-after schools, including Kenwood Academy High School and Murray Language Academy Elementary School, as well as several neighborhood schools that are considered low-performing and have lost enrollment in recent years.
Unlike in 2024, Smith is now a known entity who has emerged as a solid anti-CTU vote on the board and, for that, has received endorsements and donations from groups that oppose the union.
His only opponent, nonprofit leader Tameka Walton, is running as a write-in candidate after her name was booted off the ballot.
The former Local School Council member and CPS parent said she collected more than the required 500 signatures, but they were challenged. Walton said she tried to ask the challengers why they targeted her.
“I literally was just like, ‘Someone have a conversation with me, get to know me,’” she said. “Don’t assume that I’m anybody’s candidate or that I’m anybody’s anything. I am a mom first, and that’s my moral compass.”
Walton picked up the CTU’s endorsement, but neither the union nor anyone else had donated to her campaign as of mid-September.
Smith is best known outside Chicago for his songwriting work on the film “Selma” and his Grammy win. But in the city, the former CPS parent is more likely to list what he sees as his accomplishments on the school board.
Smith proudly says that he has visited every school in his district, and that he has held monthly community events for parents about issues such as absenteeism and the Black Student Success Plan.
He points to a resolution he wrote that requires the leader of CPS to have superintendent credentials as the biggest achievement of his first year. His second year, he said, has focused on “organizing and being transparent about information.”
Smith has become a vocal critic of Sustainable Community Schools, a program in which schools get $500,000 each to bring in organizations that provide mental health services, food banks, and classes for students and families. The CTU’s contract with CPS calls for the program, which has become a target of conservative groups that regularly criticize the union.
Smith said his frustration with the program is that it is expensive and no one is tracking how it is doing.
“Let’s stop making a sham of Sustainable Community Schools. It’s not a sham, but it’s being made to be one,” he said. “Because what I see is something that could be so wonderful for students, community, and student outcomes. But every time you ask for data on its effectiveness, you get nothing.”
Smith is endorsed by the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years, and the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.” The political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools also backs him financially.
Smith defends taking this money.
“They never asked me to vote a certain way,” he said. “They never gave me a policy and said push that through.”
Smith did not respond to our questionnaire.
Walton said she represents two important constituencies that Smith doesn’t. One, she’s a mom who had to advocate to get her children into CPS schools where they could thrive. She is also the executive director and founder of a nonprofit that works in schools with children who have experienced trauma.
“I’m looking beyond how much trouble it was for me to navigate (CPS), but I’m also looking at, as a parent, the things that I want to see done,” she said. “The school should be a safe and welcoming space for both the students and the parents.”
Walton’s children attended or are enrolled in private high schools, primarily because they play soccer and few CPS schools have quality soccer programs, she said. But when one of those private schools didn’t work out, she struggled to find a place for her son, who she said was having some challenges. She wound up homeschooling him for a time before he eventually attended and graduated from a public school.
“It required for me to be at the school front and center, and it required me to learn the policies in place to support students like him within Chicago Public Schools,” she said.
Now she wants to see better connections between CPS and the homeschool community.
Walton was glad to get the endorsement of the CTU, especially after being kicked off the ballot. She said she’s aligned with the union on wanting to ward off school closures and teacher layoffs to plug budget holes. And “they’re fighters,” like her, she said.
“I’m fighting for my place. I’m fighting for my voice,” Walton said. “They want to see the things that I want to see, first as a parent, and then secondly as a candidate.”
Read Walton’s full questionnaire.
Sarah Karp covers Chicago Public Schools for WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. Contact Sarah at skarp@wbez.org.
