Chicago Public Schools (CPS),officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons,in Chicago,Illinois,is the fourth-largest school district in the United States,after New York,Los Angeles,and Miami-Dade County. For the 2020–21 school year,CPS reported overseeing 638 schools,including 476 elementary schools and 162 high schools;of which 513 were district-run,115 were charter schools,9 were contract schools and 1 was a SAFE school. The district serves 340,658 students. Chicago Public School students attend a particular school based on their area of residence,except for charter,magnet,and selective enrollment schools.
Paul Gust Vallas Sr. is an American politician and former education superintendent. He served as the superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana,the CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public Schools,and a budget director for the city of Chicago.
Walter Burnett Jr. is an American politician who has served as the alderman for Chicago's 27th ward since his first election in 1995. The 27th ward includes the West Loop,Greektown,East Garfield Park,Near North Side,Old Town,West Humboldt Park,West Town,Goose Island and the Illinois Medical District. As of 2023 he is the vice mayor of Chicago.
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers,paraprofessionals,and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has consistently fought for improved pay,benefits,and job security for its members,and it has resisted efforts to vary teacher pay based on performance evaluations. It has also pushed for improvements in the Chicago schools,and since its inception argued that its activities benefited students as well as teachers.
Karen Lewis was an American educator and labor leader who served as president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU),Chicago's division of the American Federation of Teachers,from 2010 to 2014. For nearly 20 years before becoming president of the teachers union,she was a high school chemistry teacher.
Jacqueline Barbara Vaughn was an American Chicago Public Schools special education teacher and labor leader. Vaughn is noted as the first African-American and first woman to serve as president of the Chicago Teachers Union,the nation's third largest teachers union local from August 1984 until her death in January 1994.
Jesús G. "Chuy" García is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party,he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners,as well as in the Illinois Senate and on the Chicago City Council before his election to Congress. He was also a candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2015 and 2023. Throughout his career in Chicago and national politics,he has been described as a progressive.
Sophia D. King is an American politician and former member of Chicago City Council,who served as alderman from the 4th ward,which includes portions of the neighborhoods Bronzeville,Hyde Park,Kenwood,Oakland,and South Loop. King was appointed to the position in 2016 to replace retiring incumbent Will Burns. She won a special election to serve out the rest term of the term in 2017 and was re-elected to a full term in 2019. She was a member and chair of the City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus. King forwent reelection to the city council in 2023 in order to make an unsuccessful run for mayor of Chicago in the 2023 Chicago mayoral election.
Lori Elaine Lightfoot is an American politician and attorney who was the 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor,Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as a partner at Mayer Brown and held various government positions in Chicago. She served as president of the Chicago Police Board and chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force. In 2019,Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff election for Chicago mayor. She ran again in 2023 but failed to qualify for the runoff,becoming the city's first incumbent mayor to not be reelected since Jane Byrne in 1983.
Jesse Sharkey is an American former schoolteacher and labor leader in Chicago. From 2010 to 2014,he was the Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). In October 2014,he became acting President of the CTU after Karen Lewis stepped down as President due to illness. In May 2019,he and other members of the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) were re-elected to their leadership positions with approximately two-thirds of the vote.
The 2019 Chicago Public Schools strike was a labor dispute between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union Local 73 that lasted 14 days. The strike began on October 17,2019,when both unions failed to reach a contract agreement with Chicago Public Schools over compensation,benefits,staffing,wrap-around services such as counselors,nurses,and librarians,and caps on class sizes. On October 31,the strike officially ended when the mayor and the Chicago Teachers Union reached a tentative agreement allowing students to go back to class on November 1,2019. The agreement included millions of dollars dedicated to reducing class sizes,hundreds more social workers,nurses and librarians,and a 16 percent salary increase over the coming five years,but did not achieve all the main goals of the unions.
Brandon Johnson is an American educator and politician who has served as the 57th Mayor of Chicago since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party,Johnson previously served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 2018 to 2023,representing the 1st district.
The 2023 Chicago mayoral election was held on February 28,2023,to elect the mayor of Chicago,Illinois. With no candidate receiving a majority of votes in the initial round of the election,a runoff election was held on April 4. This two-round election took place alongside other 2023 Chicago elections,including races for City Council,city clerk,city treasurer,and police district councils. The election was officially nonpartisan,with winner Brandon Johnson being elected to a four-year term which began on May 15.
The 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 8,2022,to elect the governor of Illinois,concurrently with the 2022 Illinois general election. Gubernatorial candidates ran on tickets with candidates for lieutenant governor. The incumbent governor and lieutenant governor,first-term Democrats J. B. Pritzker and Juliana Stratton,sought re-election together against Republican nominees Illinois State Senator Darren Bailey and his running mate Stephanie Trussell.
Jesse H. Ruiz is an American politician,lawyer,and businessman. He has previously held the positions of deputy governor of Illinois for education,chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education,president of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners,vice president of the Chicago Board of Education,and interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools. He currently works in the private sector as chief compliance officer and general counsel to the Vistria Group. He also currently serves as a member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Illinois State Senate. She resigned from the chamber in May 2023 to serve as deputy chief of staff to Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson. On April 2,2024,she was appointed as Chief of Staff by Mayor Johnson
Janice K. Jackson is an American educator,educational administrator and former schools superintendent. Jackson served as the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools,the school district's superintendent position,from December 8,2017,until June 30,2021. Prior to her term as superintendent,Jackson was the chief education officer of the district.
The 2022 Illinois Secretary of State election was held on November 8,2022,to elect the next Illinois Secretary of State. Incumbent Democrat Jesse White did not seek re-election to a seventh term. Alexi Giannoulias,a former state treasurer,won the open seat.
The 2023 Chicago elections took place in two rounds on February 28,2023,and April 4,2023. Elections were held for Mayor of Chicago,City Clerk of Chicago,City Treasurer of Chicago,all 50 members of the Chicago City Council,and 66 members of the newly created police District Councils. The elections were administered by the Chicago Board of Elections.
The 2023 Chicago aldermanic election took place in two rounds on February 28 and April 4,2023,to elect 50 alderpersons to the Chicago City Council. Each alderperson represents one of Chicago's 50 wards. The elections are non-partisan and use a two-round system where the top two finishers compete in a second-round runoff if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round. The elections are part of the 2023 Chicago elections,which include elections for Mayor,City Clerk,and City Treasurer.
