Who is running for president of the Chicago Board of Education in 2026?

For the first time, Chicago voters this November will elect the president of the Chicago Board of Education, as the governing body for the Chicago Public Schools becomes a fully elected board in 2027.

Currently, 10 members of the school board are elected, and 11 members, including the board's president, are appointed by the mayor. But all 21 members will be elected by voters in November, and the fully elected board will take office in January.

Three people are running for school board president, a position, which has been appointed by the mayor since 1995. 

The Chicago Board of Educaton has 21 members, including the president, who runs board meetings, helps decide the agenda, and represents the entire city. The other 20 members each represent 10 districts, with each district divided into two subdistricts.

Here is who is running for president of the Chicago Board of Eduction on Nov. 3. Like the city's municipal elections, the election for school board is nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not run under a political party banner.

Who are the candidates for Chicago Board of Education president?

Jessica Biggs

Biggs is a current school board member, representing District 6B, which includes all or parts of the Bronzeville, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, Washington Park, Loop, and South Loop neighborhoods.

A former Chicago Public Schools teacher and principal, Biggs lives in Bronzeville, and has a daughter who is a student in the CPS system.

She supports expanding universal free preschool for all Chicago children beginning at age 3, rather than age 4. 

Biggs has said that, as school board president, she would refocus the board on "what actually matters" — which is ensuring a first-rate education for all students rather than politics.

"I hear from families again and again that the district is really at a crossroads, and we've been far too immersed in a political back-and-forth for the last couple of years," she said. "So I want to make sure that the district really returns to a focus on the things that mater to families. Do they have access to a great school in their neighborhood? Are we focused on our academic outcomes? Are our district's financial challenges being resolved in way that is actually inclusive of our community voices, and that actually, we're set up for long-term financial success?"

In 2018, Biggs was fired as the principal of Burke Elementary School, at 5356 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. in Chicago's Washington Park neighborhood. The district's inspector general found that Biggs may have tampered with attendance data. As described by the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, the allegations were that Biggs directed staff to mark students tardy when they arrived at school late enough that they should have been marked absent or half the day.

A rise in the school's attendance rate helped the school's rating, the newspaper reported. But the Sun-Times reported that the IG report did not show a "full-blown conspiracy to cheat," and that it was not clear that the rise in attendance was the result of mislabeling students tardy rather than absent.

Biggs herself has characterized the disciplinary action against her as retaliation for speaking out against CPS practices. She said she has always believed in standing up for students, and hopes voters will focus on that.

"You know, in that moment, I stood up for what was in the best interests of my students and families, even at great personal cost. So I have a track record of standing up for our students' interests, even when they don't align with my own personal interests," she said, "and I think that is an important piece that voters should consider when they consider my candidacy. I will always look out for the best interests of our students."

Biggs has been endorsed by former Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson and Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents thousands of CPS staff.

Campaign website: biggs4chicago.com

Hilario Dominguez

Dominguez is a former Chicago Public Schools special education teacher at Pablo Casals Elementary School in West Humboldt Park and a graduate of CPS. His wife is a CPS assistant principal, and he plans to send his son to CPS.

He is calling for free full-day preschool for every Chicago family starting at age 3, rather than age 4, and for better school meals at CPS. He also wants to improve access to paid internships and youth jobs for CPS students.

"I'm the son of two working parents — a mother who cleaned houses, a father who was a truck driver — and they raised us… to love school," he said. "And that's what I did. I went to Whitney Young High School, so I'm a proud Dolphin, [then] Johns Hopkins University, came back to be a special education teacher in these very same schools."

Dominguez said his background gives him an understanding of CPS that sets him apart.

"I know CPS from every angle, including policy," he said. "I've helped down in Springfield to bring back resources to our district. I brought back $2 billion from a digital ads tax coming to our state. Not too long ago, I advocated at county and then won $70 million for our district. And I lobbied every single day until we got that half-a-billion-dollar historic TIF [Tax Increment Financing district] surplus for our schools. So I've been fighting for our schools literally since I was a kid, when I was 17 years old."

In 2021, Dominguez was the subject of a complaint by a fellow teacher who alleged that Dominguez made a Nazi salute and called the teacher "Hitler" in front of students, multiple published reports note. Dominguez emphasized that the teacher withdrew the complaint, and that what really happened was that he stood up for his students in the face of racism.

"I am a Latino man — someone that grew up with people mispronouncing my name on purpose to insult me sometimes. So I made a promise to myself as a student and as a teacher that I was going to stand up for racism at all times," he said. "And that's the exact same thing that I did, and that's what I will do as the next school board president, because all of our students deserve to feel seen and proud of who they are, and that's the school district that I'm fighting to create."

Chicago Public Schools district Inspector General Philip Wagenknecht confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that his office has revived an investigation that it had closed earlier this summer into Dominguez. 

The Tribune spoke with the woman believed to be at the center of the allegations, who is now 26. She said Dominguez asked questions about her dating life when she was alone with him, which the paper said an employee also described in a 2017 statement to the district.

In a video posted online, Dominguez said he is sitting down with the Inspector General's office, and said the claims are unfounded.

"I believe in accountability. I believe allegations should be heard. That's why I participated in every inquiry, answered every question, and participated in every investigation and community process, and every single time, each investigation has found the same exact thing — unfounded and unsubstantiated," Dominguez said in the video.

Dominguez has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, which has called Dominguez a leader of its 2019 teachers' strike against the Chicago Public Schools.

Campaign website: hilarioforcps.com

Victor Henderson

Henderson is an attorney and former certified public accountant. He manages the Henderson Parks LLC law firm, which specializes in corporate litigation. He also is a board member of Urban Prep Academies, a network of all-boys charter schools in Chicago.

His children, parents, and in-laws have attended CPS schools. 

Henderson has not responded to CBS News Chicago requests for an interview about his bid for school board president.

According to his campaign website, Henderson believes students must come first at CPS.

"Decisions that are made to advance political agendas - and not student achievement - have no place in our schools," his website states.

Henderson also wants to provide wraparound services to keep students safe and nourished, and believes CPS needs to keep community leaders involved in addressing each school's needs, and getting the district on more solid financial ground.

"Access to quality neighborhood public schools is the #1 concern for most parents when choosing a home. By increasing the quality of those schools, we can retain thousands of hard-working, tax-paying families right here in Chicago," his campaign website states.

Henderson has been endorsed by former Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool and former CPS CEO Paul Vallas.

Campaign website: victorforthefuture.org

Who has dropped out of the race for Chicago Board of Education president?

Jennifer Custer

Custer, a former CPS teacher and current school board member, dropped out of the race for school board president in August, saying in a statement that it had become "abundantly clear that various special interests are prepared to spend millions of dollars in this race."

Sendhil Revuluri

Revuluri, former vice president of the Chicago Board of Education under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, dropped out of the race for school board president at the end of September. Like Custer, he cited "special-interest cash" being spent on the race. 

Because he dropped out after early voting was already underway, Revuluri's name remains on the ballot.