Changing America one election at a time.

You don’t really think that elections ever end in Illinois, do you? No, they really don’t. In the city of Chicago, we have Local School Council elections this week, and though NDFA did not endorse in the LSC races this year, there are several candidates who would appreciate your help if you live in their areas:

Theresa Mah (Steering Committee member) is running for LSC at Thomas Kelly High School (4136 S. California) and was endorsed by Progressive Alliance PAC.

Alonso Zaragosa, who ran for committeeman in the 31st Ward, is running for LSC at Lloyd Elementary School, near Armitage and Cicero, and also for LSC at Kelvyn Park High School (4343 West Wrightwood Avenue).

Long time member Joe Laiacona is running for LSC at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Albany Park (Wilson and Kimball).

NDFA member and Raise Your Hand Board Member Jill Wohl sent the following recommendations for some north side LSC’s:

Amundsen High School (corner of Damen and Foster):
Michael Cohen (community)
Jeff Newman (community)

Waters Elementary (Campbell and Wilson):
Terri Versace (parent)
Christine Weldon (parent)

Inter-American School, 851 W. Waveland:
3 Ana Camino
5 Lisandra “Ms. Lisa” Vazquez
9 Guillermo Vidaurre
10 Julie Grisalez
29 Jill Wohl

Elementary schools vote on Wednesday, April 18th, and high schools vote on Thursday, April 19th. I plan to vote in two elections that I’m eligible for: in my kid’s elementary school as a parent, and at Teddy Roosevelt High School as a community member. Many schools are open from 6am to 7 pm to encourage community members to vote; community members need to present two forms of ID, one with a current address. Pay attention to the number of people you are allowed to vote for, which should be listed on the ballot – over-votes will not be counted.

Jill wrote me a very passionate email about the importance of being involved in Local School Council races, and in particular noted: “Raise Your Hand (ilraiseyourhand.org) has chronicled some very disappointing challenges to democratically run schools. I believe LSC elections are critical to democratic public education and a great tool to build community engagement, and possibly even future elected leaders. We also saw Stand for Children throw significant dollars to people like Silvana Taberes, who defeated Rudy. I believe we must engage communities deeper, and more effectively. I believe LSC elections -- coming up this April 18 and 19, can be a critical part of that.”

So once again, please get out and vote in your local school council elections: these elections really do matter, especially given the challenges the Chicago Public Schools are facing in the coming year.