The roster of candidates vying for school board seats has shrunk to 32 following a Chicago Board of Elections hearing on Tuesday.
Barring a successful appeal in court by a candidate removed from the ballot, this number — spread across the city’s ten school board districts — is the final count of who is running in the November election.
The two candidates removed from the ballot are Kirk Ortiz of the 3rd district and Brittany Bailey Preston of the 9th district. Four other candidates who had objections filed against them had their objections dismissed on Tuesday, confirming their spot on the ballot. Those are Bruce Leon of the 2nd district, Jason Dones of the 3rd district, Andre Smith of the 6th district and Raquel Don of the 7th district.
1st district candidate Chuck Hernandez also withdrew from the race on Aug. 16 despite not facing any objections.
Altogether, this narrows the race to 32 candidates, down from its height of 47. A few more candidates are running write-in campaigns.
Changes to the ballot from successful appeals — which would have to go through the courts at a later date — could still be made, Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Max Bever said. Candidates have until Sept. 3 to appeal.
And the ballot is set to be certified on Aug. 28, Bever said, with the 2024 elections just over two months away.
But, a day earlier, candidates were still vying for a place on the ballot, as the Board ruled on recommendations made by hearing officers for school board candidates’ objections.
“The process is extremely tedious — it’s not meant for normal people to go through,” said 3rd district candidate Kirk Ortiz, who was knocked off the ballot after Tuesday’s hearing. “Which is why the numbers whittle down.”
Ortiz called the signature objection process “unjust” and said he hopes for greater transparency from those involved in the objection and hearing process in the future. He is not challenging his removal from the ballot or running a write-in campaign this year, but plans to run again in 2026.
Those who ultimately remained on the ballot said there was a financial burden to defending their spots.
“This process has tied me up, has drained resources — people desiring to donate having me on hold from receiving donations because they don’t know whether I’m on the ballot or not,” said Andre Smith, a candidate from the 6th district.
Smith secured his spot on the ballot at Tuesday’s hearing, where the Board of Elections dismissed the remaining objection to his candidacy.
Smith was not the only candidate to express disappointment with the objection process.
“Because I have the financial means and I’m an independent thinker, I sort of have a mission now, which is to get on the Board and be an independent voice,” said 2nd district candidate Bruce Leon, who was found to have sufficient signatures at Tuesday’s hearing, meaning he too will remain on the ballot. He described how he only was able to defend his candidacy because he could pay for legal fees. “I feel I’m carrying the flag for all the people that got thrown off the ballot because they couldn’t afford it.”
The other candidates whose cases were heard on Tuesday were not immediately available for comment.
Objections were filed against school board candidates up until July 1, a week after the deadline for candidates to file their nomination papers. In the nearly two months since, candidates facing objections have gone through hearings and the examination of their signature sheets to evaluate their candidacy.
In the school board race, the ongoing objection process has narrowed the field considerably in a few districts. The 1st, 3rd, 5th and 8th districts now only have two candidates each on the ballot, but other districts have as many as six.
Ten of the 11 Chicago Teachers Union-backed candidates remain on the ballot. Only Brenda Delgado of the 6th district was removed due to an objection, but the other CTU-endorsed candidate from her district, Anusha Thotakura, remains in the race, meaning a CTU-backed candidate is running in every district.
Both of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools-supported candidates — Carlos Rivas of the 3rd district and Andre Smith of the 6th district — also remain on the ballot.
Following the certification of the ballot by Cook County, Early Voting machines will be prepared and the ballot will go to the printers in mid-September, with early voting starting Sept. 26.
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