Independent school board candidates outspent by rivals call campaign 'incredibly challenging'
Jessica Biggs is spending Election Day running from one polling place to another, trying to convince as many voters as possible to pick her to represent District 6 on the Chicago Board of Education.
Biggs, a former Chicago Public Schools principal, knows the encountersinteractions are many voters' first introductions to her. Meanwhile, they've likely gotten texts and mailers or seen signs with the names of her two opponents. They may have even gotten a visit from the candidate or one of their surrogates.
One of Biggs' opponents is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union while the other has the support of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. Those two opposing organizations are among the biggest players in these first-of-their-kind elections and have spent millions to vault their candidates into office.
But in six of the 10 electoral districts, there are hopefuls like Biggs, who are getting outspent by a large margin and don't have a direct connection to a base of supporters.
INCS and another group that's highly critical of the CTU have spent about $3 million , according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. The teachers union has spent $1.6 million on its endorsed candidates through its own political action committees and at least eight other affiliated PACs. The CTU has its thousands of teachers and support staff, while INCS has a direct line to the parents of the 48,000 students that attend charter schools.
Those clear advantages have stacked the odds against anyone unaffiliated with the union or charter group.
Carmen Gioiosa, an independent candidate in the 4th District on the North Side, said it has been "incredibly challenging" competing against candidates with lots of cash and support. Community forums, which theoretically level the playing field with voters hearing from all candidates equally, have not drawn big crowds.
"The territory is so large," she said of the districts' geographic size, which is hard to cover without resources.
Many of the 10 voting districts are sprawling, each running through several neighborhoods and stretching from wealthy communities to low-income ones. There are about 275,000 people in each district.
When the school board becomes fully elected in 2027, those 10 districts will be split in half to create 20.
Adam Parrott-Sheffer, one of two independents in the 10th District, said he has been surprised at how expensive things like mail ads are, as much as $1 per household. Even sending emails can be complicated. While the Democratic Party is able to pay to get around spam filters, he doesn't have the money to do that. He sent a limited number of mailers to people he thought he otherwise wouldn't be able to reach either in person or through texts, such as older voters.
Parrott-Sheffer only raised $84,000. The other independent in District 10, Che "Rhymefest" Smith, has $129,000, but most of it he loaned to his own campaign.
The CTU-endorsed candidate in the 10th District, Robert Jones, received $321,000. The average for candidates backed by the union was $229,000. And District 10's charter-supported candidate, Karin Norington-Reaves, raised $174,000, plus INCS spent another $331,000 on her race through its super PAC.
INCS spent an average of $250,000 in each district to support its candidates and oppose CTU hopefuls.
Biggs said money would have been helpful to have some paid staffers. Instead, she had to rely on family and friends, who could act as good surrogates because they know her so well. But she said it's been a lot of work.
"I am tired," she said.
But independence hasn't been all bad.
"A lot of people really want the school board members to be independent," Biggs said. "It doesn't seem like a lot of that money has penetrated."
La'Mont Raymond Williams, running in District 9, often touted his independent credentials when participating in forums. Pointing to the avalanche of negative ads by union and charter groups against each others' candidates, Williams said "not being part of the fray allows me to distinguish myself."
Parrot-Sheffer said one of the first things that people ask him is whether he's affiliated with the CTU or charter school groups. He said there are some voters who are looking for those "extremes," but there are also a fair number of people who want someone fiscally responsible that also supports teachers — his main selling points.
Gioiosa lamented that the races have turned so expensive and political. She said she ran a positive campaign that focused on policy issues that she felt would improve children's education.
"This is what the school board elections should have been about, and not worrying about what the mayor's going to do next or trying to make a decision on a CEO's performance knowing full well that there's a performance evaluation that none of us have access to," she said.
"No one's really talking about access to education for all students and what that really looks like at the local level."
