Meet the Candidates Running for Board President 

The president chairs board meetings, helps set the agenda, and represents the board publicly. Elected citywide to a four-year term, the president works alongside 20 members elected from individual districts. 

The full board approves Chicago Public Schools’ budget, sets district policies, authorizes contracts, and hires and evaluates the district’s chief executive. Their decisions shape property taxes, school programs, building investments, and whether schools open or close. The president’s influence comes through guiding that work and building agreement among board members.

All eligible Chicago voters can vote for president, whether or not they have children in CPS. Three candidates remain actively in the race: attorney Victor P. Henderson, current board member Jessica Biggs, and former CPS teacher Hilario Dominguez. 

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Jessica Biggs

Jessica Biggs, a CPS board member, former principal, and community organizer, is running for school board president on a platform combining stronger instruction, financial stability, and changes to board governance.

Biggs represents District 6 and directs the Southwest System of Care. A CPS parent, she previously led Burke Elementary School and worked as a special education teacher.

In the collaborative voter guide, Biggs names reading and math instruction, increased funding, and efficient spending as her top priorities. She opposes routinely raising property taxes to the maximum and says CPS should demonstrate responsible spending while seeking additional state support.

Asked whether she supports school closings for any reason, Biggs selected neither. She described closures as undesirable but said budget pressures and inadequate programming require a facilities and enrollment plan shaped by affected communities.

She supports neighborhood, selective-enrollment, magnet, and existing charter schools, but opposes opening additional charters. Her governance proposals include policy committees, independent policy staff, and financial analysis to help board members evaluate district proposals. She also proposes a student listening group and student participation in budgeting.

Biggs’ campaign biography describes a family background in education: both parents were elementary school teachers, and her brother teaches special education. Her own early teaching work focused on students with disabilities and literacy development.

She earned a graduate degree in school leadership at Harvard and worked in Boston before entering CPS through a resident principal position at Canter Middle School. Her campaign describes her subsequent organizing work as building partnerships among schools, health providers, and social service organizations.

Her published campaign platform adds specific financial goals, including a five-year recovery plan developed with city and state partners, stronger cash reserves and improved creditworthiness. It also calls for expanding early childhood opportunities and tracking enrollment as a measure of families’ confidence in CPS.

Biggs proposes a public legislative calendar, clearer standards for major decisions and a public framework for evaluating the district’s chief executive.

Learn more about Biggs here.

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Hilario Dominguez

Hilario Dominguez, a former CPS special education teacher and former deputy political director for the Chicago Teachers Union, is running for school board president with a focus on increased funding and schools that provide broader community services.

A Pilsen resident and CPS graduate, Dominguez served on Whitney Young’s Local School Council. He earned undergraduate degrees in sociology and business management at Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in special education at Dominican University.

In the collaborative voter guide, his leading priorities are increased CPS funding, sustainable community schools, and universal full-day preschool beginning at age 3. The guide lists support from the Chicago Teachers Union and Our Schools Chicago.

Dominguez opposes school closings and additional charter schools. He favors stronger oversight and intervention to protect students attending existing charters. He supports raising the property tax levy to the maximum while pursuing additional state funding.

His instructional priorities include smaller classes, adequately staffed special education services, and more preparation time for teachers. He also proposes a student committee that could develop solutions and submit resolutions to the board.

Dominguez’ campaign platform expands on those proposals with plans for youth employment, career preparation, and school meals. He calls for paid internships, apprenticeships, and partnerships connecting students with employers, labor unions, colleges, and professionals.

His career platform proposes expanding existing career and technical education programs, providing workplace visits and job-shadowing opportunities, and creating a CPS alumni mentorship network. It also calls for stronger college and career counseling so students can explore university, trade school, and employment options.

On school food, Dominguez proposes regional production kitchens that prepare more meals from scratch, increased purchasing from local suppliers, and student advisory groups that help shape menus. His platform connects those changes to nutrition education, school gardens and career opportunities in food-related industries.

These proposals form part of his broader community-school approach, which would connect education with health, family services and neighborhood partnerships.

Learn more about Dominguez here. Dominguez was the only candidate who completed The Culture’s questionnaire (read his answers here) and who accepted an invitation to appear on The Culture Podcast (listen here).

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Victor P. Henderson

Victor P. Henderson, a Beverly attorney and former certified public accountant, is running for Chicago school board president with an emphasis on academic performance, financial oversight, and student safety.

Henderson is the parent of four CPS graduates. He earned an economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a law degree from Georgetown University. He founded the law firm Henderson Parks and has served on the board of Urban Prep Charter Academies.

In the collaborative school board voter guide, Henderson identifies improving reading and math, spending tax dollars efficiently, and protecting students from gun violence as his leading priorities. He favors school performance ratings that incorporate multiple measures, student growth and community input.

Henderson opposes automatically increasing the district’s property tax levy to the maximum each year. He proposes examining spending, contracts and programs before considering additional taxes or service reductions.

On school closings, Henderson answered yes, but described closure as an extraordinary last resort requiring educational, safety and financial evidence, community participation, and a transition plan. He supports multiple school options and conditional assistance for existing charters, while declining to give an unconditional yes or no on opening more.

His campaign biography emphasizes professional leadership outside the school system. It lists service as president of the Chicago Bar Association, outside ethics officer for the Chicago Housing Authority, and counsel to the U.S. House Ethics Committee. It also identifies a previous leadership position in the Chicago office of Holland & Knight.

The campaign describes additional involvement with the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, Illinois Community College Board and Better Government Association. Henderson presents that experience as preparation for overseeing a large public institution’s finances, ethics, and operations.

His campaign also points to several generations of family connections to Chicago public schools, including his parents and in-laws, alongside his children’s attendance at neighborhood and selective-enrollment schools.

Learn more about Henderson here.