Chicago School Board District 5 results
Polls close at 7 p.m. Check back then to view real-time results on this race from the AP. Follow our live coverage for context, reactions, and analysis throughout the day. Long-time education activist Aaron “Jitu” Brown has easily won the race to represent the 5th district on Chicago’s first elected school board, defeating two write-in candidates.Brown will represent a district that stretches from the affluent West Loop into the more disinvested West Side neighborhoods of West Garfield Park and Austin. Brown’s opponents Jousef M. Shkoukani and Kernetha Jones ran as write-in candidates.Brown lives in Austin, and was endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. He opposes charter schools and closing schools with low enrollment. Brown staged a hunger strike to keep Dyett High School open and was a strong advocate for creating the elected school board.In the WBEZ/Sun-Times/Chalkbeat questionnaire, Brown said he would support taking out a high-interest loan this year if it was necessary to prevent “cutting primarily Black or brown schools,” and losing teachers or resources for students. He said he didn’t know if he’d support keeping Chicago Public Schools CEO Martinez, who the mayor has been trying to push out.Shkoukani, meanwhile, said he would keep Martinez, calling himself “a fan” of Martinez’s work. He also rejected borrowing, saying it was important to have the necessary resources, but “it’s also important that we do it in the right way. I don’t want to mortgage our kids’ futures.” This largely West Side district includes West Town, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, Lawndale and Austin. It’s home to 100 schools — two of which are rated “exemplary” by the state and 11 as needing “intensive support” — and 274,000 residents. District 5’s population is 57% Black, 19% white, 19% Hispanic and 3% Asian. The students who attend the schools are 62% Black, 5% white, 28% Hispanic, 3% Asian and 1% multiracial — and 77% of those children come from low-income backgrounds. More School Board Results Chicago School Board Independent school board candidates outspent by rivals call campaign 'incredibly challenging' By Nader Issa and Sarah Karp | WBEZ [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone] Chicago School Board Chicago School Board District 1 results By Anna Savchenko | WBEZ [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone] Chicago School Board Chicago School Board District 2 results By Nader Issa [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
Long-time education activist Aaron “Jitu” Brown has easily won the race to represent the 5th district on Chicago’s first elected school board, defeating two write-in candidates.
Brown will represent a district that stretches from the affluent West Loop into the more disinvested West Side neighborhoods of West Garfield Park and Austin. Brown’s opponents Jousef M. Shkoukani and Kernetha Jones ran as write-in candidates.
Brown lives in Austin, and was endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. He opposes charter schools and closing schools with low enrollment. Brown staged a hunger strike to keep Dyett High School open and was a strong advocate for creating the elected school board.
In the WBEZ/Sun-Times/Chalkbeat questionnaire, Brown said he would support taking out a high-interest loan this year if it was necessary to prevent “cutting primarily Black or brown schools,” and losing teachers or resources for students. He said he didn’t know if he’d support keeping Chicago Public Schools CEO Martinez, who the mayor has been trying to push out.
Shkoukani, meanwhile, said he would keep Martinez, calling himself “a fan” of Martinez’s work. He also rejected borrowing, saying it was important to have the necessary resources, but “it’s also important that we do it in the right way. I don’t want to mortgage our kids’ futures.”
What's Your Reaction?
