Jessica Biggs claimed victory in the race for Chicago Board of Education president on Tuesday night while about 60 percent of the vote had been counted. She addressed the crowd at her watch party as the count was still incomplete and before the projected a winner.
Chicago Board of Education race
Biggs, a former CPS principal, said “declaring victory” after garnering almost half of all votes. Her claim put her ahead in the first Chicago Board of Education election in which Chicago voters chose the full 21-member Board of Education, including a districtwide president and 20 members from subdistricts within CPS.
The race carried immediate weight because members of the Chicago Board of Education make policy decisions that affect more than 315,000 Chicago Public Schools students. The board also votes on CPS’ nearly $10 billion budget, which funds 626 schools and more than 45,000 employees, and it hires the district’s superintendent.
Support and spending
Biggs consolidated support from key union organizations and several Chicago aldermen. Hilario Dominguez was backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, which has also backed Mayor Brandon Johnson. Earlier this year, the board picked Macquline King to lead CPS.
As of mid-October, more than $6 million had been spent on the Chicago Board of Education campaign. Common Ground Collective accounted for about $2.6 million of that total and spent more than $846,000 on advertising in October against Dominguez.
Count still open
The outcome remained unsettled when Biggs spoke, even with her lead in the count. The remaining ballots will decide whether her claim becomes the final result, and the new term for board members elected this November will begin on Jan. 15, 2027.
