Following the Money In Chicago School Board District Races

Yesterday, Chalkbeat and the Illinois Answers Project published a solid analysis of campaign spending for school board president and in the 20 district races for the rest of the board seats. The Chicago Teachers Union and its affiliated political action committee, Our Schools, have spent $1 million supporting school board presidential candidate Hilario Dominguez, who is on leave from his job as the union’s deputy political director.

Board Rule examined how the campaign spending they tracked stacks up against our earlier predictions for the hottest North Side and South Side races.

We Told You So: Where It’s Hot, It’s Hot

District 4A has emerged as the most expensive district race to date, with more than half a million dollars already spent. Incumbent Karen Zaccor has received the biggest investment from CTU and its affiliated political action committee, Our Schools, among all district candidates, with $62,749. But her opponent, Ellen Sherratt, has benefitted from $454,000 in spending by Common Ground Collective, INCS Action, SEIU, and the Urban Center. Over $300,000 of that money has gone toward ads supporting Sherratt; more than $130,000 has gone to ads attacking Zaccor.

District 7A shows the most lopsided spending. For every dollar spent by CTU and Our Schools to support incumbent appointee Emma Lozano, SEIU and political groups opposed to CTU have spent $25 supporting her challenger, Jesus Ayala, Jr., either directly or on attack ads against Lozano. CTU opponents have spent a combined $374,000 opposing her and supporting Ayala, Jr.

Other races we called competitive that show heavy spending include: 1B, 3B, 6A, and 10B.

We called 6B competitive, but there's a reporting glitch that makes it hard to assess total spending: searches of campaign finance records on the Illinois Sunshine database and the Illinois State Board of Elections turn up no financial reports from candidate Michael Neal's campaign. Common Ground Collective endorsed Neal, but so far there are no disclosures that show they have funded his campaign.

Attorney and parent Brittany Kimble, Neal's opponent, has filed campaign disclosures regularly.

What We Missed: More races to watch

Upset in 9B? An analysis of spending in the school board district races turns up a hot race Board Rule did not predict: District 9B, which covers West Pullman, Morgan Park, Beverly, and Mount Greenwood. Of all the challengers CTU supports, it has invested most heavily in Kate Dunneback, who faces incumbent Therese Boyle. Boyle ran for CTU president in 2019 on the Members First slate, a caucus that has repeatedly challenged CORE, led by Stacy Davis Gates, for leadership of the union. Watch for more on this race next week.

Whither the West Side? Board Rule has also not weighed in on the West Side races, where incumbents Jitu Brown (5A) and Kyla Blaise (5B) have received top investments from CTU. Their districts cover areas of the city where the largest numbers of people who voted failed to vote in their school board race. Higher campaign spending in 5B suggests Blaise’s seat may be less secure than Brown’s. 

Only Outspent 2:1. In an election cycle where the spending disparity goes as high as 25:1, being outspent 2:1 looks like a relative cakewalk. But that’s just the beginning of the odds for challenger Tameka Walton in District 10A, which covers a swath of the south lakefront, from Bronzeville to South Shore. Walton faces incumbent Che “Rhymfest” Smith, the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist whose name recognition tilts the playing field more than the spending ratio alone. Watch for our interview with Walton, who’s happy to be known as the underdog, on Monday.

Not Quite So Hot in 2B. This race began with three candidates, but Daniel Basco left the race October 11 and threw his support to challenger Kyna Lenhof. Incumbent Debby Pope has received $34,000 from CTU and its affiliated political action committee, Our Schools, in the form of in-kind contributions. Lenhof has mostly benefited from ads supporting her candidacy, to the tune of $195,000 paid for by Common Ground and INCS Action. These two opponents of CTU have also funded $40,000 worth of attack ads against Pope.

Reporter’s Notebook: Pastor Michael Neal and the Future of Price Elementary

In a school board election somewhere other than Chicago, this news might be a bombshell:

According to email correspondence Board Rule obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Pastor Michael Neal, candidate for school board in District 6B, owes Chicago Public Schools $42,000 for the use of space at the former Price Elementary building, 4351 S. Drexel, between April 2024 and March 2026. 

On April 1, 2026, Stephen Stults, director of real estate for CPS, sent a letter to Neal terminating the tenancy of his organizations, Glorious Light Church and its associated nonprofit, Timothy Development Corporation, effective April 30.

On April 2, Stults emailed Neal, saying, “CPS is terminating the license agreement due to nonpayment of the license fee, with termination to be effective at the close of business on 4/30/2026 (see attached termination notice)."

Neal’s side of the story: his organizations vacated the space as requested. The Timothy Corporation now provides its wellness programs in the Holy Angels Catholic School building, and Glorious Light Church services are being held at Grant Memorial Church, 4017 S. Drexel. 

As to the financial issue, Neal emphatically denies he owes CPS money. “We don’t owe them anything,” he said. “I can’t catch that real estate guy, Stults. He won’t return our emails. I don’t know who to talk to.” The emails Board Rule received end August 24. The last email between Neal and Stults, dated July 28, was a message from Neal to Stults:

Stephen,

While your private apology and acknowledgment of your actions to myself and Mrs. Neal was appreciated, it has yet to generate the public action which we demanded. As I have said before I will not have our name and reputation sullied with a false accusation. Your letter of retraction has still yet to be received.

When Board Rule asked Neal’s opponent, Brittany Kimble, for comment, she replied, “It’s a pickle.” She declined further comment, saying she’d have to look into the issue.

Board Rule has a conversation scheduled Monday with Neal and Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Church, who chairs the Bronzeville Community Action Council. Neal is the vice-chair. Emails obtained through the same Freedom of Information Act request show Harris has had his own issues with CPS over using space at the Colman Administration Building, 4640 S. State Street.

It’s a pickle, indeed. And all this is only the tip of the iceberg. 

Will the Price Site Become Fields for King College Prep?

It seems possible that CPS began pushing the issue of delinquent fees with Neal to empty the Price building, which sits adjacent to King College Prep. On May 21, Harris sent an email to Stults, CPS Chief Operating Officer Charles Mayfield, and Ald. Lamont Robinson, telling them he and Neal had been informed there were plans to demolish Price and asking if that was the reason Neal's organizations had been told to vacate the building.

The emails indicate Harris won an early July meeting for himself and Neal with King College Prep Principal Brian Kelly, plus Stults, Mayfield, Ivan Hansen, Kimberly Watson, Myron Hester, Ald. Robinson, and State Senator Robert Peters or a member of his staff.

In an email to the group dated July 8, Kelly apologized "for our historical lack of engagement with the neighborhood" regarding capital improvements at King, including the plan to demolish the Price building and use the site for athletic fields. In the email, Kelly said the discussion about capital improvements at Price began "post-COVID, early in my tenure."

Neal responded July 9, asking to be included in discussions about the future of the Price building and for "a letter of retraction concerning the letter sent about the contract," which appears to be a reference to the overdue fees CPS had cited in terminating the agreement that allowed Neal to use the Price building.

On July 23, Harris emailed Robinson, Superintendent/CEO Macquline King, and Mayor Brandon Johnson requesting a meeting to discuss the plans to demolish the Price building and insisting that the Greater Bronzeville Community Action Council and Greater Bronzeville Community Partners would not support the demolition, or any project regarding Price that lacked "proper, respectful community engagement." Cristina Pacione-Zayas, the mayor's chief of staff, responded, saying deputy mayor Khari Humphries would join the meeting and asking CPS to schedule it. But the meeting had not taken place by August 24, the first day of school, when Neal emailed about "the inaction concerning the matter of the former Price school."

At the August 27 board meeting, Harris spoke during public comment with Neal at his side. "Today, we are asking this board to consider three immediate actions: refuse to support any future sale, demolition, development involving or surrounding Price Elementary School without authentic community engagement; require the facilities department to attend a Greater Bronzeville community meeting, acknowledge what has occurred, and provide a transparent path forward, and provide Timothy Corporation and our partners first right of refusal to purchase the property."

At yesterday's board meeting, Neal was a featured speaker during King's district updates. He called King's new toolkit for planning collaboratively with communities "the right path forward," but cautioned, "Meaningful partnership requires meaningful power. ... Communities deserve transparent information, time to develop alternatives, and a role in shaping proposals from the beginning."

What does all this mean for Price? Earlier in October, Neal didn't know. "I don't have the slightest idea," he said, adding that he had heard it was being demolished and then heard it would not be.

Stay tuned for more next week.