HB 1774 would give Chicago taxpayers the same right to elect their school board that residents in every other Illinois city and 98 percent of cities nationwide have. Read our fact sheet on the bill and then contact your state legislators about it. 

Urge your state legislators to vote YES on HB  1774,

an Elected School Board for Chicago

HB 1774 would give Chicago taxpayers the same right to elect their school board that residents in every other Illinois city and 98 percent of cities nationwide have. The bill would create a 21-person board, with 20 members elected from representative districts to reflect Chicago’s many diverse communities. One seat, the chairperson, would be elected city-wide.

Why is HB 1774 needed?

Unelected Board is Taxation without Representation: CPS levies and spends billions of Chicago tax dollars, but taxpayers have no say in how that money is spent. An elected board would give a voice to the parents, teachers, students and communities the schools serve.

Voters Want It:  Nearly 90 percent of voters in two referenda across the city voted in favor of an elected school board.

It’s the norm: Of the 892 Illinois school boards, only Chicago’s is appointed. Many large  districts—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Oakland, Houston—have elected boards.

The current system is broken:  The appointed board is responsible for fiscal mismanagement, corruption, lack of transparency, and increasing disparities for children of color.

Frequently Asked Questions

Don’t Local School Councils provide democracy in CPS?

No. Local School Councils have NO say over district policies. The school board sets policies and budgets and LSCs are charged with helping to implement them at the school level only.

Won’t a change in board makeup risk the academic gains CPS is making?

Elected school boards across the state make academic gains. Plus, a 2015 University of Illinois at Chicago study found no evidence that appointed boards raise student achievement.

Won’t an elected board introduce politics into the schools?

The current board is accountable to only one person, the mayor. That's as political as it gets.  Major board decisions are unanimous and made with little to no discussion or debate.

Regardless of who the mayor is, Chicago voters deserve a voice in how their school district is run.