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.
Voters in this South Side district will have a new representative — with a familiar last name — on Chicago’s school board because the current member, who was appointed by the mayor, was removed from the ballot in July.
Brittany Bailey Preston, the wife of state Sen. Willie Preston, whose district covers part of the same South Side territory, is effectively guaranteed the seat because she is the sole candidate in the race.
Angel Velez, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointee to District 9a, filed to run for election, but was removed from the ballot after a large percentage of his signatures were challenged and invalidated.
The majority-Black district includes a mix of 47 neighborhood, charter, and magnet schools serving mostly Black and Hispanic students. The district also has one of the lowest percentages of schools earning either exemplary or commendable designations from the state across the city. A number of schools in the district have struggled with declining enrollment over the past 15 years.
Therese Boyle won the 2024 election to represent District 9. The district was later split into two subdistricts.
Boyle represented District 9b, and Johnson appointed Frank Thomas to represent 9a. Thomas was initially appointed after the mayor’s first-appointed board resigned en masse during a dispute between Johnson and then-CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.
Thomas resigned in June 2025 and was later replaced by Velez. After being removed from the ballot, Velez told Block Club he would not pursue a write-in candidacy.
Preston did not return a candidate questionnaire or agree to an interview.
A resident of Auburn Gresham, Preston previously ran a construction company with her husband. Willie Preston was elected to the Illinois Senate in 2022, representing the 16th District.
After Velez was removed from the ballot, Preston took to social media with a statement celebrating her apparent success.
“I am deeply grateful to have earned a place on the ballot and humbled to be running unopposed,” Preston said.
In the same post, Preston said she would focus on three priorities: improving literacy, expanding trade and career pathways, and making CPS “the most family-friendly school district in America.”
“As a Black mother of six, education has always been my highest priority,” Preston wrote. “Chicago’s children and families deserve a Momma Bear who is committed to their success and will fight every day to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive.”
In 2014, the Prestons sued Chicago State University in federal court, alleging university leaders had retaliated against them by interfering in student government elections and expelling Willie Preston after the couple became campus activists critical of the university president and other administrators. The university denied the allegations, and a federal judge dismissed the suit the following year.
Preston also ran for the school board in 2024, but was removed from the ballot before the election. The Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents Chicago school support staff, has endorsed Preston. She is also endorsed by The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools, and the Common Ground Collective, an anti-Chicago Teachers Union political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”
According to the Illinois Sunshine Database, Preston has not raised any money for her campaign committee as of mid-September.
Preston did not respond to our questionnaire.
Jim Lynch covers Beverly, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood and Washington Heights for Block Club Chicago. Contact Jim at jim@blockclubchi.org.