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CHICAGO (CBS) — In two weeks, voters will be electing a new Chicago school board—and CBS News Chicago has learned more than $3 million has been raised in the race, with a big chunk of it going toward advertising.
A total of 31 candidates are vying for 10 spots in what is now a $3.2 million race for Chicago’s first elected school board. More than $38,000 has come in the last couple of days just for Chicago Teachers Union-backed candidates—earmarked specifically for phone calls, text messages, and radio ads.
Thousands of dollars were spent specifically on a run of flyers alone. The flyers, which some are receiving in the mail right now, claim candidates in the race are aligned with former president Donald Trump and “out-of-state billionaires.”
The flyers were paid for by Chicago Teachers Union political action committees. Some call the flyers slanderous.
“Accusing me of being a Trump puppet and a proponent of Project 2025, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Karin Norington-Reaves, one of four Chicago School Board candidates for the 10th District.
A closer look at those fliers indicates that they were paid for by the Chicago Teachers Union Local 1 PAC, while others were funded by the CTU.
“I want to make sure people know the truth about what’s happening,” Norington-Reaves said. “People who know me know this is not true at all.”
Norington-Reaves reached out to CBS News Chicago about the flyers.
“I thought it was important voters are able to make informed decisions that are rooted in truth.,” Norington-Reaves said.
Norington-Reaves is not the only one being targeted in a flyer.
Miquel Lewis, who is running for Chicago School Board in the 9th District, released this statement:
Ellen Rosenfeld, running in the 4th, released this statement:
Angel Gutierrez, who is running for an 8th District seat, released this statement:
Campaign finance records show CTU-funded political action committees have given more than $1 million dollars to those running for school board seats since the beginning of October.
State campaign finance records show opponents of six of those targeted in those October flyers received more than $250,000 in contributions to pay for “direct mail” and “mailing” work done by a Maryland-based business.
All of that was funded by either a CTU Political action committee or other PACs funded by the CTU.
Norington-Reaves said competing with the CTU and its power and resources is a challenge.
“I have to stand on my record, but I do take comfort in knowing that it’s not just me. There’s one person in every single district that’s being targeted in this way and what voters need to know is that’s the person who CTU fears the most,” she said. “It is very tough to compete with that kind of influx of cash.”
The current members of the Chicago Board of Education recently resigned, and Mayor Brandon Johnson has named replacements. By 2027, the school board will be fully elected.
A hybrid board will be elected in a few weeks, with 11 members and a chair appointed by Mayor Johnson.
“Even if you get the next mayor who is not a big supporter of the teachers’ union, who was not a teacher himself or herself, you’re going to have people on the new school board who support the union and the union’s initiatives,” said North Central College political science professor Stephen Maynard Caliendo.
Caliendo said the school board race is an example of why it’s important for people to do their own research. This was something that candidates said too.
“You’re going to have to do the work on your own to get there,” Caliendo said.
“Really look into what is someone’s record. What have they done? What have they stood for?” Norington-Reaves said. “Don’t listen to CTU. Don’t even listen to our ads—our ads are positive as well. Do your research.”
CBS News Chicago first reached the CTU with questions about its contributions to this particular race, and any affiliation with those fliers last week. As of late Tuesday, there were still no answers to those questions.
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