West Cook News

The Chicago Board of Education could go from a seven-member board appointed by the mayor to 21 trustees elected by voters if legislation making its way through the Illinois General Assembly becomes law.

House Bill 2908 passed the Illinois House of Representatives 71-39. The bill would provide for the election of board members in the 2023 and 2027 consolidated primary elections. If the General Assembly does not renew the law by June 30, 2029, the board would be dissolved on May 13, 2031, and return to its current form.

“I am very proud of State Representative Delia Ramirez and the caucus for getting this important reform through,” House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Westchester), said in a post to his official Facebook page. “I also applaud the advocates who have been pushing for this reform for years to help create a more equitable and representative Chicago Board of Education."

The 21-member board would have one at-large member who would serve as board president and 20 members representing each of 20 electoral districts to be defined by the General Assembly, according to coverage by The Neighbor. 

Though similar proposals have received bipartisan support in the past, the vote that passed HB 2908 was split along party lines, and Republicans opposing the bill have alleged the reasoning for the legislation appears to be based on a personality conflict with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, according to The Neighbor. Republicans, however, also admitted to not knowing what those problems may be. 

Opponents have also said that the mayor’s office was left out of the process of crafting HB 2908. 

The Chicago school board is the only one appointed in Illinois.