To create the 2026 Chicago School Board voter guide we relied on our journalism skills and on you — voters, readers, listeners, parents and everyday Chicagoans.
First, the journalism part. We emailed a questionnaire to all candidates who filed to run in the school board election. Candidate responses were only edited to meet length requirements and to conform with our editorial style and commitment to refrain from publishing unsubstantiated statements. They were not edited for grammar or spelling. Candidate age is as of Sept. 1.
Biographical information was culled from candidate questionnaires, resumes, campaign websites and interviews. For race profiles published in the guide, reporters conducted interviews and background research on all candidates, including campaign finance data, educational credentials, lawsuits, criminal records, and business activity. Everything was fact-checked to the best of our abilities.
The endorsements we list only include organizations that do education-related work. We also list education-focused political action committees that don’t endorse but have singled out specific candidates for contributions. You can find more information here.
Now to the part about your role.
A poll last year showed two-thirds of Chicagoans didn’t know they could cast ballots for the city’s first-ever fully elected school board on Nov. 3. It doesn’t help that it’s confusing to find out which school board district you live in, and that this process is entirely new — to everyone.
So when we set out to make this voter guide, we didn’t just want to help you decide which candidate to vote for. We wanted to help you understand this new electoral process.
We wanted to make this with and for you. Here’s how we did it.
With our partners Chalkbeat Chicago and Block Club Chicago, we started by asking voters and Chicago Public Schools parents some questions: What educational issues do you care most about? What questions would you ask the school board candidates? What do you need to know about this new board?
We worked with dozens of local education groups — including Raise Your Hand, Kids First Chicago and the Parent Engagement Institute — who helped connect us with parents and understand their communities’ information needs.
More than 900 people responded from neighborhoods across the city, representing more than 260 CPS schools. Our survey wasn’t scientific, but clear themes emerged: In the classroom, people cared most about improving reading skills and preparing kids for life after graduation. For example, Torrence Winfrey of the South Side said in his survey that he wants CPS board members to “focus on vocational education for students where they graduate with real employable skills.” He wanted to ask candidates “what meaningful changes” they would initiate to “help kids create careers?”
Outside academics, people were passionate about equitably funding schools and making sure CPS is spending tax dollars efficiently.
They also posed tough questions to the candidates — about their relationships with the Chicago Teachers Union. About screen time and AI in classrooms. About chronic absenteeism.
We listened to what you told us. Your questions formed the backbone of the questionnaire we sent to all school board candidates who filed petitions to run, like the one from Lawanda Kelly of the Northwest Side, who asked about “the single most overlooked factor impacting instructional effectiveness in CPS classrooms.”
Some 43 candidates ultimately made it on the ballot, plus three declared write-ins.
You can read the entire guide in English and in Spanish online, as well as targeted voting districts in Chinese. We are also printing 30,000 copies to distribute around the city.
We are also planning a forum for the four school board president candidates on Oct. 14 at 8 pm on WBEZ 91.5. A video will also be available online at the same time. It will feature questions from an audience of Chicago Public Schools students — part of a larger effort to partner with CPS high school classes to increase news literacy for the next generation of voters.
Happy voting!