Several parents groups and incoming Chicago aldermen on Monday urged passage of a measure that would enact an elected school board in the city and booed who they see as the chief opponent: Illinois Senate President John Cullerton.
“Chicagoans have known this was our democratic right for more than 10 years,” said Alderman-elect Daniel La Spata (1st), speaking at a rally outside the Thompson Center. “But we’re still waiting. I’ve gotten married, I’ve bought a house, I’ve become an alderman. How is it we are still waiting?”
The measure passed out of the Illinois House in April, but the bill has stalled on the Senate side. The activists are concerned the bill will die when the legislative session ends May 31.
The bill, in its current form, doesn’t appear to have the backing of Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, who recently told WBEZ that while she supports an elected school board, 20 members and a president is too “unwieldy.”
State Rep. Rob Martwick, D-Chicago, the bill’s lead sponsor, told the gathering: “With 20 of them, now you have an opportunity for every group to be represented at the table, and you put more of an emphasis on grassroots organizing and you limit the influence of outside money. This structure will work. … It has been heavily vetted over the course of the last 3 1/2 years by the House of Representatives and it has passed three times with overwhelming majorities.”
The activists urged Lightfoot to push for an elected school board and for Cullerton to get the bill moving in the Senate.
“John Cullerton, (here’s) news for you: You don’t work for the mayor of Chicago, you work for the people of Chicago,” said Erica Clark, director of Parents 4 Teachers. “And the people of Chicago want this bill — HB 2267 — passed by the end of the General Assembly.”
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