Your 2026 West Side Voter Guide

Who should make decisions about Chicago’s public schools? What should those decisions prioritize? And how can families and communities hold the people making them accountable?

On Nov. 3, Chicago voters will help answer those questions by choosing the city’s first fully elected Board of Education. All 21 seats will be on the ballot: 20 district representatives and a president elected citywide. The election marks a significant change in how Chicago governs its schools and gives voters a direct role in selecting the people responsible for their future.

This guide was produced to help West Side residents understand the candidates, compare their priorities and consider what their proposals could mean for local schools. Whether you are a parent, student, educator, taxpayer or neighbor, the decisions facing Chicago Public Schools reach beyond the classroom. They affect the buildings that anchor our neighborhoods, the opportunities available to young people and the resources families rely on.

The stakes include school funding, academic achievement, student safety, special education, enrollment and the future of schools with more space than students. Candidates bring different experiences and offer different approaches to these challenges. Understanding those differences requires looking beyond campaign slogans to examine what candidates say they would do, how they would pay for it and whom they would involve in making decisions.

Our reporting draws on three candidate forums hosted by The Culture, North Lawndale Community News, the Austin Voice, the Westside Branch NAACP and other community organizations, with key support from Press Forward Chicago. Those gatherings created opportunities for candidates to address questions rooted in the experiences and concerns of West Side communities.

This guide also draws on the Chicago Education Journalism Collaborative’s voter guide, produced by the Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ, Chalkbeat Chicago and Block Club Chicago. We credit that reporting throughout these pages. Together, these sources help provide a fuller picture of the candidates’ backgrounds, positions, financial support and plans for the district.

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Watch the Forums

In September and October, The Culture partnered with North Lawndale Community News, the Austin Voice, the Westside Branch NAACP and other community organizations to host three candidate forums ahead of the upcoming Chicago school board election.

You can watch the first part The Culture’s District 5A candidate forum here and the second part here. You can watch The Culture’s District 5B candidate forum here. You can watch the first part of The Culture’s board president candidate forum here and the second part here.

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School Closings Become a Dividing Line in School Board Races

What should Chicago do with schools that have room for more students?

That question is dividing candidates in the upcoming school board elections—and carries particular weight on the West Side, where declining enrollment and the prospect of school closures have consequences for students, families and entire neighborhoods.

An analysis by The Culture found that Chicago Public Schools classified 33 schools in Austin, North Lawndale and West Garfield Park as underutilized in its 2025–26 building utilization report.

Read the full story here.

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We Asked, Two Answered 

The Culture, North Lawndale Community News, Austin Voice, and the Westside Branch NAACP emailed questions to all candidates running for Chicago School Board President, District 5A board member, and District 5B board member. 

Two candidates responded: Jitu Brown, the incumbent 5A board member, and Hilario Dominguez, a candidate for school board president. We’ve reproduced their responses in full below. We’ve published their answers as they were submitted, with no editing. 

Read the responses here.

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Meet the Candidates Running for Districts 5A and 5B

Two West Side school board races offer voters five candidates. In District 5A, incumbent Aaron “Jitu” Brown faces Realtor LaPamela Williams and write-in candidate Kernetha Jones, a retired teacher. In District 5B, incumbent Michilla “Kyla” Blaise faces Anthony Hargrove, a community program leader and former Chicago Public Schools district employee.

Read the full story here.

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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. 

Read the full story here.

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More Races Are on the Ballot

The school board election is one part of the Nov. 3 ballot. Voters will also make choices in races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor and lieutenant governor, along with other statewide and local offices. West suburban readers should consult their own ballots; Chicago’s school board races are for Chicago voters.

To research the races appearing at your address, use BallotPedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup Tool. The tool provides information for reviewing candidates and ballot questions. It does not register you to vote or allow you to cast a ballot.

For your official sample ballot, registration status, polling place and voting instructions, consult the Chicago Board of Elections at chicagoelections.gov or, for suburban Cook County, the Cook County Clerk at cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections.