Up until now, Chicago Public Schools has never had an elected school board in its entire history. All that will change as HB 2809 — passed in the Illinois General Assembly’s 2021 spring session — goes into effect. It’s been a long time coming.
The Illinois General Assembly has started its spring legislative session, and CTU is there advocating for what our schools need. Our goal is to build on our recent victories and to pass legislation that makes concrete improvements in school governance and oversight and that allows us to be more effective in our work.
Chicago is an outlier in Illinois as a major district whose school board is not directly elected by the people whose welfare it is meant to serve. HB 2267, which has passed the House and currently awaits recognition and vote in the Senate, would fix that situation and finally bring an important measure of democracy to Chicago Public Schools.
Please email your state representative and state senator and ask them to support the following legislative proposals for our students and their families.
We look forward to working with Gov. Pritzker and the General Assembly to continue increasing funding to CPS and moving toward real stability and predictability for parents, students and school communities.
The conditions for improvement were laid here in Chicago by community groups and labor organizations who were clear that the wealthy should pay their fair share; that we must invest in child care and public schools; that we must reform our criminal justice system; and that we must center justice and equity in how Illinois moves forward.
The House of Delegates voted to confirm these recommended endorsements at its December 4, 2019 meeting. More endorsements may be made at a later date.
