School Board Races Turn Into a Big Fight in Chicago

A Chicago School Board race has turned ugly after a sitting board member was blocked from appearing on the November ballot. Angel Velez, who holds a seat on the board, did not collect enough valid signatures to qualify for the District 9 race. Now, leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union and a wealthy Democratic donor are publicly blaming each other for what happened.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates says that allies of businessman Michael Sacks challenged the signatures that Velez and other candidates turned in. Those signatures were later thrown out, which kept Velez off the ballot. Sacks is a major Democratic fundraiser who has supported school board candidates that are independent of Mayor Brandon Johnson and the CTU.

Davis Gates used strong words to attack Sacks, saying his allies tried to 'corrupt the process.' Sacks fired back, calling most of what she said 'an outright lie.' He said the school board should be focused on students and families, not on the mayor or the union.

The group that actually filed the challenges is called The Urban Center. It describes itself as a pro-school-choice, centrist organization, and says Sacks is not one of its donors. Still, Davis Gates and Mayor Johnson continue to point the finger at Sacks.

Challenging petition signatures has a long history in Chicago politics. Political rivals often use it to stop opponents from getting on the ballot. Critics say the system helps powerful insiders, while supporters say it makes sure candidates follow the law.

Even the CTU has used this tactic before. In 2024, the union spent nearly $3 million on school board races and pushed 12 candidates off the ballot by challenging their signatures. This year, the union said it chose not to challenge any rival candidates' petitions and called on Sacks to do the same.

Sacks is well known for work beyond these political fights. He helped create Illinois' evidence-based school funding formula, which the CTU actually supports. He also helped pass the state's assault weapons ban and led the committee that hosted the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In other Illinois news, a federal appeals court upheld Illinois' ban on AR-15-style guns and large-capacity magazines. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled 2-1 that the state's law is constitutional. The ruling reversed an earlier decision by a southern Illinois judge who had struck down the law.

Illinois passed the gun ban in 2023 after the Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting, which killed seven people and injured dozens more. Senate President Don Harmon called the ruling 'a victory for common sense and community safety.' Attorney General Kwame Raoul called it 'a win that enhances public safety in Illinois.'

The legal fight over the gun ban is not finished. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear challenges to assault weapons bans from the Chicago area and from Connecticut. The Supreme Court will decide the bigger question of whether such bans violate the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms.