CPS Board Race: Brown's Insider View, Dominguez's Money Mystery

In Focus: School Board Candidate Aaron 'Jitu' Brown

By Isaiah Pinzino
District 5A representative Aaron "Jitu" Brown spent time as a college football player, a journalist in the Army, a rap artist, an African-American history teacher, an activist and an education advocate before he was elected to the CPS School Board in 2024.

The South Sider ran unopposed in the 2024 election, backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and four Chicago aldermen. He was also endorsed by the Network for Public Education Action, where he served on the national group's board for a decade.

He said that the view from the board table looks different than the view from the grassroots.

"I've learned just how deep the bureaucracy is being a board member," Brown said. "I haven't felt the benefit of, I guess, someone would say, being an insider. I do have access to the superintendent, I have access to board members, I have access to CPS staff, and I think that's a good thing. But navigating the bureaucracy is very different."

Board Rule offers more on Brown, including his platform, his fundraising and his voting record. Keep reading.

Could Hilario Dominguez be Running a Campaign for Free? Not Likely

CTU-backed candidate Hilario Dominguez reported zero funds spent or received in his candidate disclosures last week amid the tense race for school board president. 

Candidates are required to report money received. They’re also required to report other donations, such as printing, design or even catering that cost more than $150 as in-kind contributions — even if Dominguez hasn’t spent or received money directly. Yet, that in-kind line reflected zero, as well. 

It is the city’s first school-board president election, and with five candidates running citywide, steep spending is a given to run a competitive campaign. A professional operation typically needs a campaign manager, voter outreach, communications, legal compliance, organizing strategy, fundraising support and infrastructure, said Hal Woods, chief of policy at the parent advocacy organization Kids First Chicago.

“To have that infrastructure to be able to compete in 50 wards would require significant resources,” Woods said.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Dominguez hasn’t spent or raised any money. He has hosted multiple events, launched a website called “Paid for by Friends of Hilario Dominguez,” and built a robust social media presence — all of which certainly cost money to sustain. 

Neither Dominguez nor his team members answered questions about accurate costs, money raised or plans to file disclosures.

“This race is about parents, students and communities, and that's where I'm spending my time,” Dominguez said in a statement to Board Rule. 

However, community outreach, even smaller-scale, requires funds.

“If you're not spending money, you're not getting in-kind services. I would say, what's the plan to really reach voters across the city?” Woods questioned. 

Still, Dominguez could file an amended report with updated numbers, or reflect the changes in his next report, due in September.

News Bites

CPS Claims it Might Miss Payroll; CTU Says Not So Fast
Tensions are palpable over the handling of the district’s  $732.5 million shortfall as the CTU pushes CPS to slow down amid proposals to lay off staff, institute teacher furloughs and impose spending freezes. A proposed five-day furlough is expected to save the district $85 million alone.

Chalkbeat reported that more than a dozen teachers showed up in protest at Monday’s budget hearing to press how the cuts would hurt local schools. For example, Chalkbeat reported, one teacher in an Austin school said that cuts would leave only one teacher in each of four grades and one class would have 47 students in it. CPS CEO Macquline King told the news outlet that the budget cuts “very painful.” 

For her part, King has warned that the $9.88 billion-budget must be passed by September, or CPS will not make payroll. As the Chicago Tribune reported, CPS uses short-term borrowing known as tax anticipation notes, or TANs, to bridge cash-flow gaps between property tax collections. The district's dependence on this borrowing has grown as Cook County's property tax bills have arrived later than expected. 

Under the state’s Evidence-Based Funding formula, the district is funded at 73% of what is considered adequate. CTU wants the board to reject this proposal. Officials counter that they need an approved plan to secure future financing. Some board members want the district to develop a better strategy for securing funding. Educators, staff, the union and the members it backs are pushing the board to ask the state to hold a special session to find more money for schools.

At the same time, Chalkbeat reported, Emila Zoko, CPS's acting budget director, said furloughs and a mid-year spending freeze are "options of last resort" and could be avoided if the district secures an additional $200 million in revenue, potentially through a surplus from the city's tax increment financing program, known as TIF. However, the district's budget proposal already counts on receiving that $200 million surplus.

ABC7 reported that this budget crisis has revived the debate over keeping under-enrolled schools open. The West Side’s Frederick Douglass High School, for example, is built for 900 students but only 30 are enrolled at a cost of roughly $95,000 per student, officials estimated. 

A vote is scheduled for next week.

But What Does the Public Have to Say?
CPS's budget roundtable discussions concluded last week, and Board Rule is recapping what happened in some of the sessions on the South and Southwest sides.

Established community and school board advocates comprised the majority at the Back of the Yards Prep Spanish-language budget roundtable, raising the question of whether CPS' outreach to Spanish-speaking community members should be enhanced and diversified to attract a broader cross-section of residents.

Community members questioned the rising expenses associated with public education, pointing to the fundraising initiatives that principals and schools increasingly rely on to cover costs. "When there are so many fundraising costs and asks from the local community, staff and parents," asked an educator at the Brooks roundtable, "are public schools really free anymore?"

Good Governance Proposal For the Board
The Academy for Local Leadership (ALL Chicago) launched its Governance Compass last week, a shared standard the school board and Chicagoans can look to for guidance on what good school board governance does. The Governance Compass encourages the board to center itself in student outcomes.

Under the framework, ALL Chicago calls on the board to adopt one to three measurable goals related to student outcomes. Those goals should then drive budget priorities and set the direction for district leadership.

The Governance Compass also calls on the board to uphold community values and to act transparently.

"It has to be a partnership with the board and the superintendent," said ALL Chicago executive director Bridget Lee. The move is significant because it marks the first time anyone has attempted to offer both the community and the board a clear, shared standard of good governance--one that can be applied immediately by the current board and continue to guide the fully elected board of 2027 and beyond.

Editor's Note: This item has been updated to correct ALL Chicago's official name, the name of the Governance Compass, and to provide a more accurate description of the compass.

Board Candidates Show Up in the 40th
All five of the CPS School Board presidential candidates appeared at the 40th Ward Democrats' annual meeting last Thursday, alongside candidates such as Patrick Hanley, who is running for state Senate District 9, and Christian Mitchell, who is running for lieutenant governor. Names were pulled from a hat to set the speaking order: member Biggs spoke first, followed by Sendhil Revuluri, Jennifer Custer, Hilario Dominguez and Victor P. Henderson.  At first, only candidates Biggs, Custer and Revuluri were slated as guest speakers, but Dominguez and Henderson signed on later. (All of the candidates were invited to the event.)

The first three candidates leaned in to acknowledge community outcries over budget shortages. The latter two focused on identity: Dominguez as a former CPS student, and Henderson as a lawyer with a track record of standing up to government. All candidates stuck to their usual talking points. Dominguez and Henderson appeared to let their biographies do the talking rather than fully engage in the discussion over the district’s budget crisis.

Candidate Events

Debby Pope, 2B: Canvass Meetup, 11 a.m., Sun., July 26, Winnemac Park, 5100 N. Leavitt St.

Brittany Kimble, 6B: Canvass, 6-8 p.m., Tues. and Thurs., July 28 and 30. Sign up here.

Norma Rios-Sierra, 3A: Canvass, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Fri. July 24. Sign up here. 

Jennifer Custer, Board President Race: Fundraising Reception, 4-6 p.m., Thurs., July 30, Mercury Illinois Office, 409 W. Huron, Suite 600.

Karen Zaccor, 4A: 70th Birthday Bash Campaign Fundraiser, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Fri., July 31, Lightwriter’s Neon Chicago, 4222 N. Ravenswood.