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.
Michael Neal, a South Side native and longtime pastor, is facing off against Brittany Kimble, a lawyer and Chicago Public Schools mom, to represent District 6b, which stretches from the wealthy Lakeshore East neighborhood downtown through the South Loop and Greater Grand Crossing.
The two newcomer candidates are running in one of two school board races where no candidate has been endorsed by the district’s major labor unions, Chicago Teachers Union or the Service Employees International Union, which represents school support staff.
Jessica Biggs, who currently represents this district, is running for school board president.
District 6b includes 37 schools, many of which serve mostly Black students and have experienced some of the city’s biggest enrollment declines, while others closer to downtown have enrolled more students over the past decade. Families’ concerns range from wanting quality, well-resourced public schools in all neighborhoods to feeling welcome on their children’s campuses, according to the candidates.
Neal was born and raised on the South Side and graduated from CPS and now runs a nonprofit. Kimble grew up in towns throughout Illinois and now sends her daughter to Ida B. Wells Preparatory Elementary Academy.
Improving reading and math proficiency and fixing CPS’ budget are Kimble’s dual top priorities. Neal wants to improve early childhood education.
The candidates are either endorsed by or have received financial support from groups that are often at odds with the Chicago Teachers Union and the mayor’s office.
Neal was endorsed by Common Ground Collective, a new anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.” Kimble’s campaign is endorsed by The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools, and has received some contributions, though she insists the group has asked nothing of her.
Neal, a pastor at Glorious Light Church in the Oakland neighborhood, said he’s always wanted to help his community beyond Sunday sermons. More than a dozen years ago, he began reading to children at a local elementary school, then started recruiting more Black men to do the same through a nonprofit he founded.
His interest in education grew and he began serving on the Greater Bronzeville Community Action Council, which focuses on creating a plan to improve education.
Running for school board “just seemed like it was just so natural because this is what I’ve been doing pretty much all of my adult life, especially since I became a father,” said Neal, whose grown daughters attended CPS schools.
Neal’s nonprofit, Timothy Community Corporation, operated inside a closed CPS school until a few months ago, he said. It focuses on increasing access to health and wellness, literacy, and leadership skills, he said.
Neal’s volunteer reading program now donates books to schools, Neal said. That work got him interested in improving early childhood education, which would be his main focus if elected. He said he wants to see more read-aloud programs at schools citywide and recruit more philanthropic organizations and corporations to provide volunteers and other support.
Neal said his campaign is “not heavy on cash,” but people have provided in-kind help or volunteered, such as gathering signatures to get on the ballot. He called himself a “campaign novice,” noting that his wife created his website, one of his daughters offers advice occasionally, and a friend is helping to run the campaign.
Read Neal’s full questionnaire.
Kimble said she has tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to secure extra support in school for her daughter, including for speech-related issues and to combat bullying. The experience pushed her to homeschool her daughter at one point. Now, it’s pushing Kimble, a single mother, to run for school board.
While she has tried to find extra support for her daughter outside of school, Kimble said not “every parent should have to do that.”
Kimble said she grew up and attended public schools in several Chicago suburbs and Carbondale before pursuing law school.
Kimble ran her own law firm for nearly a decade before filing for bankruptcy in February. Kimble said her financial problems followed years of struggling to keep her business afloat after the pandemic. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, Kimble owed $825,210 in various debts including for credit cards, student loans, and to the U.S. Small Business Administration, but she owned just $227,873 in personal property and real estate, including her home, according to court filings.
“I have learned from my situation … I was able to come out of it with being able to file bankruptcy,” Kimble said. “CPS cannot file for bankruptcy, but CPS also cannot continue to spend the same way without more money coming in.”
She remains a licensed attorney and hopes to one day reopen a law firm. For now, she said, she has become “anti-debt” and has cut expenses, such as getting rid of her car and taking her daughter to school on a CTA bus.
As a board member, Kimble said she would first tackle the district’s persistent structural deficit in part by exploring cuts outside the classroom or reducing debt obligations. Her other priority would be improving math and reading proficiency.
“To me, the math and the literacy rates of Chicago Public Schools (are) embarrassing, but I don’t think we can fix them until we fix everything else,” Kimble said of the budget.
Kimble’s campaign received thousands of dollars in consulting and signature-gathering services from The Urban Center, which opposes the Chicago Teachers Union. In her questionnaire, Kimble said she’d “refuse money that would compromise my independence.” She told Chalkbeat The Urban Center funds helped her get on the ballot and that the group has “not asked anything” of her.
She believes the group supports her because she homeschooled her child, but she emphasized that she is “inherently pro-public school.”
Read Kimble’s full questionnaire.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.