Become a Chalkbeat sponsor
Brandon Johnson
Latest news on Chicago’s 57th mayor.
It’s likely Johnson’s last appointment as 30 years of mayoral control ends in Chicago. Anderson is currently a candidate in the upcoming Nov. 3 election when voters will pick all 21 school board members.
The politically powerful Chicago Teachers Union announced a slate of endorsements for the city’s first fully elected school board Monday. The union has less campaign cash than other entities, but its tens of thousands of members can help get out the vote.
State lawmakers created the noncitizen advisory board as a way for Chicagoans without U.S. citizenship to have a voice since they can’t vote or run in school board elections. The mayor has not yet created the board.
The district will not cancel classes as the union had demanded, but it will not penalize students and staff who participate in an afternoon protest. CPS will also provide buses to the event.
The extra money comes from special taxing districts for development.
A Chalkbeat analysis found that staff turnover, unspent dollars, and community partner tensions have been key challenges for the 7-year-old program.
A Chalkbeat analysis suggests that the district’s joint initiative with its teachers union hasn’t yet given its 20 pilot schools an edge over other high-poverty campuses when it comes to academics and school climate.
Chicago Board of Education members held a rally outside of Austin High School to urge city officials to vote in favor of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $16.6 billion budget proposal. Members warn there could be staffing cuts if the plan is voted down.
The Chicago Board of Education narrowed its search for CEO to two finalists. But after the names were leaked earlier this month, board members now say they are “reconsidering” and “recalibrating.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $16.6 billion city budget plan would declare a $1 billion surplus from special taxing districts known as TIFs. Chicago Public Schools would get more than half.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said Tuesday the district should take legal action against the U.S. Department of Education for halting millions in previously awarded magnet school grants to the city’s schools.
A new 21-member, partly-elected school board has navigated most of its core functions: picking a leader, approving contracts, and balancing a budget. Interviews with more than a dozen elected and appointed members provide a window into how this experiment in Chicago democracy is going so far.
The Trump administration has threatened to boost immigration enforcement in Chicago and deploy the National Guard to the city.
The Chicago Board of Education is split on the district’s budget proposal for next school year. A group of mostly appointed members has asked CPS to alter its proposal that it includes a much-debated pension payment and loan.
State Sen. Rob Martwick, a lawmaker who helped usher in Chicago’s elected school board, says it’s still the mayor. Others say it’s the school board.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, as well as CPS and Chicago Teachers Union officials, hailed the initiative’s expansion even as they acknowledged the fiscal pressures that could endanger it.
Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.
The district is putting together a budget for the 2025-26 school year with no cuts to schools, but the proposal may not come to fruition.
The mayor said the raises are necessary to address a teacher shortage in the early childhood education sector.
The union said Monday that 85% of members voted on the deal over the course of last Thursday and Friday. Of the ballots cast, 97% ratified the agreement.