Could a Blue Wave Shape the 9B Chicago School Board Race?

Nationally, everyone's talking about the blue wave that could flip the U.S. House of Representatives, and maybe even the Senate. But at least one campaign strategist thinks it could make a ripple in school board District 9B, which reaches from Mount Greenwood and Beverly through West Pullman and Roseland.

The district is currently represented by Therese Boyle, a retired school psychologist who beat three other candidates in 2024. Boyle takes a fiscally conservative approach to district finances. She voted against the current Chicago Public Schools budget, which assumes $150 million in additional state revenue beyond what was appropriated last spring. She also co-chairs the board's special education advisory committee, which met on October 15, for the first time in the current board's tenure. Boyle is endorsed by both the progressive SEIU labor union and more centrist political groups Common Ground Collective and the Urban Center.

Challenging Boyle is speech-language pathologist Katherine Dunneback, who currently works as an adjunct clinical professor at Saint Xavier University. Dunneback wants to solve the school district's financial problems by pushing for more state money and higher income taxes on the wealthiest Illinoisans. She has the support of the Chicago Teachers Union, which has invested more in her campaign than in any other challenger it has endorsed. Dunneback is also active with the recently-formed neighborhood progressive group Politics and Coffee, which held a school board candidate forum in September.

At first glance, investing heavily in Dunneback may seem a questionable strategy for CTU. Boyle won the previous District 9, which was twice the size of her current district. Subdistrict 9B includes the 19th Ward, including her stronghold neighborhoods of Mount Greenwood and Beverly, where she took 51% of the vote while facing three opponents. But Dunneback's campaign chair, Scott Smith, argues that their robust campaign in the eastern part of the district, which includes Morgan Park, West Pullman, and parts of Roseland, coupled with a blue wave that might depress turnout in the more conservative 19th Ward, could put Dunneback over the top.

As it happens, Board Rule's highly unscientific conversations with two early voters turned this theory on its head. The West Pullman voter we spoke with voted for Boyle, and the Beverly voter chose Dunneback. We know--it's anecdotal--but the early voters we spoke with provide some insight into how voters are making decisions in school board races that are brand-new to Chicagoans. Both voters had no direct interaction with the candidates at forums or through canvassing before making their choices.

Tanesha Peeples, who lives in West Pullman, described how she learned about the candidates: “I was driving one day on 127th off Wentworth, and I saw a huge billboard for Therese Boyle, so I started to do my research.” She learned that Boyle lives in Mount Greenwood and Dunneback lives in Morgan Park. 

She sees their ability to run as tied to how the districts were mapped and the long history of segregation in Chicago. The districting “doesn’t always land you with a representative who can represent this entire district…the drastic difference between a Mt. Greenwood and a Morgan Park compared to a Roseland or West Pullman.”

Peeples went looking to see how present the candidates had been in her community. “I’ve seen the two candidates have done canvassing, they’ve been to organizations, all the things, but I didn’t see any kind of meet and greets or candidate forums in [Roseland and West Pullman], which had me concerned. It just looked like another instance where we have representatives for an area that doesn’t represent the demographics across that area.”

Peeples voted early for Boyle, but primarily as a vote against Dunneback. “I just don’t trust any candidates that are backed by CTU,” she said. “I totally support teachers, but I think that CTU leadership has and always will have an agenda…And their track record has not been indicative of supporting the best outcomes for students and families in CPS.”

Marcus Smith lives in Beverly and is the father of a preschool-aged son. He voted early for Dunneback. “I went with her because my neighbors, who have grade- school-aged kids that go to two different schools in the neighborhood, complained a lot about the overcrowding at the schools their kids are going to. Even though my son is younger and is not going to one of those schools yet, he will be in the future. So I felt like that was maybe an issue I would be facing as well, if we kept things the way they currently were. From my research, it sounds like the woman who wants to come in wants to do things to alleviate that issue, so that’s why I chose her.” He also appreciated her opposition to charter schools.

Budget Watch: Don't Bet on Extra TIF Surplus

While all eyes are on the school board races, the mayor's opening budget proposal appears to shut the door on TIF money as a backup plan to fill the school district's $150 million budget hole.

On October 21, Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a $522 million TIF surplus as part of his budget plan. That would deliver $286 million to CPS, just above the $285 million the school district budgeted. But 23 alders immediately announced their opposition to the mayor's budget, and Ninth Ward Ald. Anthony Beale cast doubt on the city's ability to sweep that much money without delaying TIF-funded neighborhood development projects.

Don't expect Johnson to be able to come up with more TIF funds if Springfield fails to deliver the missing $150 million during veto session, warned the Civic Federation's Danny Vesecky. "It's probably going to stay where it is," he said.

So what happens if lobbying efforts in Springfield fail? Vesecky suggested CPS would have to lay off all the people whose jobs were restored back in September. But they would only save half the money originally budgeted, because those people were paid half the year's worth of salary and benefits. "That's why it's better to make these types of cuts at the beginning of the year," said Vesecky. He estimates CPS could save $50 million by laying off rehired workers mid-year, if need be.

The five furlough days proposed by district leadership were planned for the second half of the year, so they could be restored with less disruption than mid-year layoffs would cause. CPS had estimated they would save $85 million.

CPS Substack List Starter Kit

Yesterday, Substack announced a new feature: lists. If you publish on Substack, you can curate a list of other Substack publications you like and share it with your audience. You can check out this step-by-step guide for the details on how to do it.

You'll notice that Board Rule is not on Substack; we use a publishing platform called Ghost. But if you're a Substack fan, we've got a few favorites over there that could be the basis for a Chicago Public Schools-themed list. They represent a variety of interests and perspectives on CPS and the issues it faces. I've linked to articles that are especially good pre-reads before voting this weekend or on Election Day. Here they are:

CPF Insider on the “less inspiring than maybe folks were hoping for” race for school board president.

Chicago Hall Pass on what voters deserve to know about big donors’ agendas.

Second City Teachers covers all the doings related to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund. But start with this interview with veteran TIF opponent Tom Tresser.

A City That Works reminds us of the big picture of these races.

And, if you just can't get enough, put DePaul's Fall Forum on the elected school board on your YouTube playlist. Panelists include: UIC historian and former school board member Elizabeth Todd-Breland, campaign finance reformer Bijan Terani, and Jane Ruby, president of the League of Women Voters of Chicago.

Events

Saturday, Oct. 31: CPS School Board President Debate and March to the Polls, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, 9-11 a.m., 930 E. 50th St. Details here.

Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day. Find your polling place here.

Thursday, Nov. 12: Pathways to Possibility: The State of Higher Education Summit, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. Register here.

Thursday, Nov. 12: Black Student Achievement Committee, 6 p.m., Chicago Board of Education office, 42 W. Madison. Details here.

Wednesday, November 18: IFT Springfield Lobby Day, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Pasfield House, 525 S Pasfield St., Springfield, IL. Register here.