How the Elected Chicago School Board Became the Fight of Veto Session
Senate President Don Harmon (foreground) and House Speaker Chris Welch passed their own versions of an elected Chicago School Board bill, leaving the question unsettled into 2024.
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Organizing a new elected Chicago School Board is proving to be one of the most contentious issues of the fall veto session, if not the entire legislative year.
Senate President Don Harmon advanced language through a Senate committee earlier this week that would elect the entire new Chicago School Board in 2024 with staggered four and two year terms.
But, Wednesday, Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) advanced the House version, which continues a hybrid model, where some members are elected and some members are appointed by the Mayor.
Some Democrats voiced concern earlier this week the plan disenfranchises voters and would likely lead to a lawsuit.
Williams said after the vote Wednesday she was attempting to keep the spirit of the original elected school board plan in place, which transitions from an appointed to elected school board.
“The original legislation that was passed gave us a framework that was easing and transitioning into a fully elected board instead of just abruptly going from all appointed to elected,” Williams said. “I would argue that the transient makes sense, especially with this expedited time frame. We’re looking at less than a year before the election.”
But Harmon issued a statement late Wednesday scathing the House proposal for its appointed members and what he considers a lack of ethics provisions.
The people of Chicago deserve representation and accountability,” he said. “[There] are specific accountability protections the public requested during numerous Senate hearings. We also heard repeated testimony regarding the importance of electing all 20 board members next year, a provision the Senate supports and one that is lacking from the House version.”
Harmon also blasted ethics provisions in the House bill as “woefully inadequate.”
“We are concerned with the failure to include strong ethical safeguards in the legislation the House approved,” he said. “The House legislation opens the door for corruption by exempting board members from the requirements under the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act. A Chicago School Board must be held to the same ethical standards as every other school board in Illinois.”
Harmon pointed to the fact that the House legislation includes no ban on executives and employees of district contractors or vendors from serving on the board.
Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago), who led negotiations on the new lines for the 20 school board districts, lines the two chambers agree on, said Wednesday figuring out the differences in the structure of the board could be tricky.
“Each one creates its on set of problems,” Martwick said. “If you elect 20 to 20 districts, you have more likelihood of achieving representative diversity that was the underlying motivation of the bill. But if you do that you go from a fully appointed to a fully elected board overnight, so there’s no right or wrong, but we have to get to some sort of consensus.”
Williams appeared open to further negotiations.
“We’re open with further conversations with the Senate to make sure we get there,” Williams said. “I think we share the same goal, and that is to provide an equitable, representative board.”
UPDATE: The House passed an amendment Thursday morning matching the Senate ethics language. The Senate passed its own bill Thursday afternoon, leaving the issue unsettled before lawmakers return to Springfield in January.