Illinois House OK's Measure For Elected School Board In Chicago
(CBS/AP) -- The Illinois House has approved a plan to restore an elected school board for Chicago Public Schools.
The Democratic-led House approved the measure 104-4 Thursday. The plan now heads to the Senate.
Rep. Rob Martwick-- a Chicago Democrat and sponsor of the plan -- said it gives parents, teachers and students more say in how schools facing financial crisis are governed.
The district elected school board members until a 1995 reform that gave the city's mayor power to appoint the board.
The plan would divide the city in to 20 districts. Candidates would run for a 21-member school board starting with the 2018 primary election. The board chairman would run citywide.
The plan restricts elected members from having contracts with CPS and giving campaign contributions to school board candidate.
The Chicago Teachers Union lauded the House's action Thursday.
"For more than a decade, communities throughout the city of Chicago have worked to establish a stable, well-managed and fiscally responsible Chicago Board of Education, and with today's vote, the Illinois House took an important step toward recognizing the diversity of our city and improving democracy for all," CTU President Karen Lewis said in a prepared statement.
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