Chicago Board of Elections rules on final challenges to school board candidacies
Four final candidates for Chicago school board — including two incumbents — survived challenges to their signature petitions and were cleared to get on the November ballot at a Tuesday meeting of the city’s Board of Elections. The board commissioners rejected efforts to block the…
The Chicago Board of Elections ruled on final challenges to school board candidacies, clearing four candidates for the November ballot, including two incumbents, on Tuesday. Karen Zaccor, Michilla Blaise, Claudia Peralta, and Connie Anderson were among those who survived efforts to block their candidacies. However, Kernetha Jones was removed from the ballot.
The ballot for the historic Chicago school board races is nearly set, though appeals of the decisions are pending in Cook County Circuit Court. For the first time, all 21 members of the board will be elected directly by Chicago residents, ending decades of mayoral appointments and a transitional period where the board was partially elected and partially appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Three of the races involve incumbent board members, though one challenger has vowed to launch a write-in campaign. The city's Board of Elections commissioners dismissed arguments that the petitions should be invalidated due to petition circulators also collecting signatures for partisan candidates in Illinois' March primary. Adam Lasker, the board's general counsel, anticipated further appeals following the meeting.
The board's work on school board petition challenges now concludes. The ballot's finalization opens campaigning for the volunteer seats overseeing Chicago Public Schools, with races expected to be costly and competitive. Candidates had already amassed nearly $2 million in campaign funds by the latest reporting deadline.
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