{
  "id": 3815353,
  "title": "Jennifer Custer drops out of race for Chicago school board president",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/jennifer-custer-drops-out-of-race-for-chicago-school-board-president",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T20:35:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Chalkbeat",
    "slug": "chalkbeat",
    "url": "https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2026/08/27/jennifer-custer-drops-out-of-race-for-cps-board-president/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Jennifer Custer, the current Chicago school board member, has decided to withdraw from her bid to become the first elected President of the Chicago Board of Education. In a statement, she revealed that she withdrew her petition signatures after recognizing that \"various special interests are prepared to spend millions of dollars in this race.\" Custer, the only candidate without petition signature challenges, stated that competing against such spending would create an uphill battle for her family, endorsers, volunteers, and supporters. Four other candidates remain in the race: Jessica Biggs, Hilario Dominguez, Victor Henderson, and Sendhil Revuluri. Custer expressed her intention to ask the other candidates about their alignment with her \"North Star\" of prioritizing children's well-being. She had previously received support from the Chicago Teachers Union but adopted an independent stance during her tenure on the board. Custer notably voted against two non-binding referendums on raising new revenue for CPS and against hiring the permanent CEO, Macauline King. Her fundraising efforts were less successful compared to her competitors, with a significant donor being the political action committee of the Operating Engineers Local 150, where her husband serves as political director. Custer acknowledged her campaign expenses, particularly the cost of child care, which enabled her to engage with schools, supporters, and board members.",
  "summary": "Jennifer Custer, an incumbent school board member, is withdrawing from the race to be the first elected Chicago Board of Education president. In a statement, she said she filed paperwork Thursday with the Chicago Board of Elections to withdraw. Custer was the only candidate in the race…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}