SOUTH AND WEST SIDE African American organizations on Monday, March 4, held a press conference outside Dyett High School, 555 E. 51st St., calling on Illinois Senators to reject the hybrid SB15 Elected School Board Bill. Cata Truss (speaker in green) says the Bill is not transparent, disenfranchises the Black community and gives total control to the mayor and the Chicago Teachers Union. (Photos by Chinta Strausberg
Representatives from several community organizations and Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th) called on Illinois Senators to oppose the Elected School Board legislation (SB15). They say it is not transparent and is a hybrid bill that will enable Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to control the entire CPS Board.
The hybrid bill, which was passed by the State senate on Tuesday, March 5, calls for the election of 10 members, 10 appointed by the mayor who also appoints the CPS Board Chairman, which is not what he promised during his campaign.
Johnson had promised a fully elected School Board while running for mayor. That was the case until last week when Mayor Johnson reportedly sent a letter to Illinois Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) asking him to pass a hybrid Elected School Board Bill.
That is not acceptable to representatives of the Illinois African Americans for Equitable Redistricting (IAAFER), the Black Community Collaborative, the Black American Voters Project and CAUSE organizations, which held a press conference outside Dyett High School, 555 E. 51st St., where they called on the Senate to reject the Bill.
Members of the organizations accused the CTU of allegedly “making a backroom deal” in changing the Bill from a fully elected Board to a hybrid one that they say is not transparent.
“This is about voter suppression,” said Villegas. “Initially, this Bill was transparent until the CTU went to the backroom,” which he said resulted in a hybrid version and not the fully Elected School Board Bill the mayor promised when he was running for office.
“This Bill, SB15, has been done in the most untransparent [sic] way,” said Villegas. “This is about voter suppression. This is about locking out folks and making sure they are not part of the process, which is contrary to the elected School Board.”
Villegas said the CTU wants this hybrid bill “because they can’t afford to fund 20 races at the same time. Too damn bad,” he said. “We want democracy now and not when it is convenient.”
Andre Smith, vice president of the Where We Stand Right Now Washington Park Residents, called on Johnson “to run the city and not try to run the [School] Board. The CTU has been in too many political elections and have not been teaching our children.”
Smith objected to the change in the Bill requiring those who run for the Board to file 1,000 signatures, which means they have to file 3,000 to deal with possible challenges. Smith said at $2 a signature that would cost $6,000, minus lawyer’s fees. “The average person running for the School Board can’t do it.”
“We are calling on Mayor Johnson and the CTU [to keep your] hands off [this Bill] and run the city that you’re not doing a good job in,” said Smith.
Natasha Dunn, founder of the Black Community Collaborative said, “Our mayor has prioritized everyone other than the citizens of Chicago.” Dunn said the hybrid bill “will allow the mayor to handpick Board candidates,” contrary to what he promised on the campaign trail. “We need a transparent process, and this is not transparent.”
Dwayne Truss, a former School Board member and Austin resident, and his wife Cata, are also calling on the Senate to reject SB15.
They say it “disenfranchises” African Americans, is not transparent and it impedes community people from running for the Board seats because now they have increased the threshold petitions from 250 to 1,000, but candidates will need to file 3,000 signatures to ward off challenges.
“That’s voter suppression,” said Truss. “A candidate will not be able to vote for a person of their choice. This Bill is anti-democratic and not transparent.” Cata Truss had a message for Harmon, her senator, “I have a problem with SB15. It disenfranchises the people of Chicago, the people you all are supposed to represent.
“To the mayor, I say remove your hand from this Bill. We don’t want to be dictated to, to be disenfranchised,” said Mrs. Truss. She believes the mayor supporting SB15 means he does not support the community.
When contacted, Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter said, “All of what these groups are saying is true.” However, Hunter admitted that the Illinois Senate “is trying to give Mayor Johnson what he wants and that’s the problem. That’s the dilemma we’re faced with.” She added, “I don’t like it.”
The House had already passed the Bill, and with the Senate passage of this legislation the Bill will go to Governor Pritzker for his signature.
“I don’t like the fact that the mayor appoints 11 people and then 10 will run to be elected, but we know they will be financed by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU),” Hunter said, adding, “and I don’t like that either.”
She was referring to the CTU’s cash flow of $81,554.81 as of last December, having spent $1.8 million to help Johnson get elected. “So, the mayor will end up controlling the whole thing,” Hunter told the Chicago Crusader.
Hunter said she has already made a commitment to Senate President Don Harmon, a Democrat from Oak Park, that she would vote in favor of the Bill. She said whether she votes or not, the Bill will more than likely pass.
Last year, Harmon called for the election of a full 21-member School Board. However, the CTU opposed that.
Last week Mayor Johnson sent a letter to Harmon asking him to support the hybrid bill, which calls for the election of 10 School Board members, and the mayoral appointment of 10 members and the CPS Board chairman.
