Below are the Chicago Teachers Union endorsed candidates for the school board election. Election day is November 5, with Chicago voters casting one ballot in the district where they live.
District 1: Jennifer Custer works as a dean at a suburban school district, following a decade as a teacher in suburban public schools. She says her kids go to CPS.
District 2: Ebony DeBerry, a former CPS teacher, has spent about a decade working as a community organizer at One Northside, a Rogers Park-based organization.
District 3: Jason Dones, a director at Teach for America-Chicago until 2023 — an organization the CTU has railed against, saying its weeks-long training does not prepare its teachers for classroom realities. He currently leads an organization called Beyond100K, which aims to increase the number of STEM teachers.
District 4: Karen Zaccor is a veteran teacher at Uplift Community High School in Uptown.
District 5: Aaron “Jitu” Brown, national director of Journey for Justice, a network of public school advocates.
District 6: (two endorsements) Anusha Thotakura, deputy director at Citizen Action/Illinois, who describes herself as a former middle school teacher. Brenda Delgado, vice president of the board of Raise Your Hand, a parent advocacy group and parent of three CPS grads.
District 7: Yesenia Lopez, a staffer for the Illinois Secretary of State, who worked for Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s campaign, and has already been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia, a longtime CTU ally who ran for mayor at the union’s behest.
District 8: Felix Ponce has been a band director at Back of the Yards College Prep IB High School.
District 9: Lanetta Thomas describes herself as a disabled veteran, parent, former CPS student and passionate community activist with a lifelong commitment to advocacy and service.
District 10: Robert Jones is a pastor at Missionary Baptist Church.