Announcing a new round of appointments to the Chicago Board of Education Monday, Mayor Brandon Johnson named Sean Harden as the new president of the 21-member body to be seated in January. Three newcomers are among an additional nine appointees the mayor’s office announced Monday. The slate otherwise includes an assortment of sitting members and candidates who lost their bids for elected school board seats during the general election in November.
One appointee is yet to be announced, according to state law which requires the mayor to appoint a member in each of the city’s ten newly-drawn school districts, as well as the Board President.
Along with the ten winning elected candidates who won their district races last month from each of the city’s newly drawn school districts, the appointees will each serve two-year terms until a fully elected board is seated in 2027.
Declared on the heels of a long-delayed City Council vote which saw the mayor’s fourth budget proposal narrowly adopted, the appointments come amid a tough stretch of months for Johnson — and mark a new chapter in the ongoing power struggle between the mayor, teachers union and Chicago Public Schools leadership that’s dominated Board proceedings in recent months.
In a late press conference Johnson held Monday evening to discuss his budget, Johnson emphasized the importance of education to his mayoral tenure. Johnson, who was buoyed to power by the Chicago Teachers Union, has made education one of his biggest priorities.
“We want every single family in this city to have a fully funded neighborhood school. I talk about this a lot because it’s important to me, especially because we know looming attacks from the federal government around public education are severe,” he said.
The mayor’s 2025 budget plan includes a short-term fix to declare a record $570 million surplus from the city’s special tax-increment financing districts, known as TIFs, which will net the city a total of $132 million and deliver $311 million to Chicago Public Schools.
Johnson said Monday night that his commitment to education is exemplified not just in TIF money, but in the character of his appointments, people who “actually love and believe in public education.”
“So looking for people who understand the urgency of this moment, people who know that they have to organize and work collectively to fight for progressive revenue in the state,” Johnson said.
Harden, the new president, is the most recent addition to the current Board, sworn in last week to replace the Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson, who was forced to resign within days of his October appointment by the mayor due to controversy. A business consultant, Harden previously worked as CPS’ deputy CEO of community affairs, around 15 years ago, according to his profile on the social media site LinkedIn.
In a press release sent by the mayor’s office Monday evening, Harden praised his fellow appointees.
“Each of these leaders brings a unique perspective and an unrelenting commitment to the success of Chicago’s students,” Harden said. “Together, we will prioritize equity, amplify community voices and create opportunities that unlock the potential of every child in our city.”
The mayor’s remaining picks include:
Edward “Ed” Bannon, whom the mayor’s office said is a parent of three CPS graduates and former Local School Council member, lost his bid in the 38th ward aldermanic race in 2023. A veteran Northwest Side community organizer, the press release sent by the mayor’s office said Bannon has “consistently demonstrated steadfast leadership in guiding school governance and fostering parent engagement.”
Norma Rios-Sierra also has a background in organizing. As an artist, activist and CPS parent, she has brought together communities in Logan Square and Hermosa, according to the city’s press release. Her work “underscores her dedication to inclusivity and community-driven solutions in education,” the release states.
A longtime leader of the immigrants rights’ organization Centro Sin Fronteras, Pastora Emma Lozano has been a champion for bilingual education and immigrant rights, bridging “faith and activism to create lasting change for Chicago’s most vulnerable communities,” the mayor’s office said.
Two CTU-endorsed School Board candidates who failed to secure seats in the fall, despite heavy backing from the union, are also among Johnson’s picks:
Karen Zaccor is a retired CPS teacher and former parent and member of multiple Local School Councils, according to her campaign site. An organizer with Northside Action for Justice, a grassroots organization that is a grantee of the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation, Zaccor advocated for the implementation of Sustainable Community Schools, a model in which CPS provides $500,000 grants to community groups that partner with CTU to provide wraparound support services to students and families at each of currently 20 schools. Zaccor lost the District 4 race to Ellen Rosenfeld, a CPS parent who will be resigning from her role as a family and community engagement specialist for the district in early January, per rules prohibiting employees from serving on the board.
Anusha Thotakura is the director of Citizen Action Illinois, a statewide progressive advocacy organization that has sought policy change in support of affordable health care, retirement security, and stronger environmental and food safety protections, according to the organization’s site. A former bilingual teacher as part of the Teach for America program, Thotakura lost the District 6 seat in November to independent candidate Jessica Biggs, a former CPS principal.
Four of the current Board members, whom Johnson initially appointed after a stunning shake-up in October, will stay on, according to the announcement. The mayor’s list of appointments as of Monday did not include current Board Vice President Mary Russell Gardner nor member Rafael Yáñez, a hate crimes officer with the Chicago Police Department. Because of rules that each appointed member must hail from opposite sides of the district from their elected counterparts, Gardner, whose home address is in the same district as elected member Aaron “Jitu” Brown is ineligible to stay on.
Of the current sitting members, four will remain on the board:
Debby Pope, a retired bilingual history teacher, previously served as the CTU’s class size coordinator and grievance correspondent. Pope lives in District 2b, opposite CTU-backed candidate Ebony L. DeBerry, who won the race for the far North Side seat in November.
Michilla Blaise, a parent of two CPS students, is a longtime political consultant and the current chief of staff for 16th District Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar. Blaise previously vied for the District 5 school board seat on the West Side, before dropping out of the race, which CTU-backed candidate Aaron “Jitu” Brown won uncontested.
Frank Niles Thomas is a grassroots organizer who lives in Washington Heights and the father of four CPS graduates, according to the city. He worked as the Streets and Sanitation superintendent for the 21st Ward for over a decade and has served on the Dunne Elementary School Local School Council. Niles Thomas lives in District 9 where Therese Boyle, a dissenting CTU member who ran as an independent candidate without the union’s endorsement, won the far Southwest Side district in the General Election.
Olga Bautista is a CPS parent and former member of the John L. Marsh Local School Council. As co-executive director of the Southeast Environmental Task Force, Bautista has organized against industrial facilities like General Iron and Ozinga and fought to bring a green new school to the Southeast Side. Last year, she served on Johnson’s transition team on the Environmental Justice Subcommittee. Bautista lives in District 10 where Che “Rhymefest” Smith won the far South Side seat without support from either the CTU nor pro-school choice interest groups.
The mayor’s appointments announced Monday will be joining another ten members who were elected in each district last month. The full list of elected members: Jennifer Custer, Ebony L. DeBerry, Carlos A. Rivas, Jr., Ellen Rosenfeld, Aaron “Jitu” Brown, Jessica Biggs, Yesenia Lopez, Angel Gutierrez, Therese Boyle and Che “Rhymefest” Smith.
Chicago Tribune’s A.D. Quig, Alice Yin and Jake Sheridan contributed.
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