A referendum question asking 38th Ward voters if they want an elected Chicago Board of Education has been removed from the ballot for the city’s Feb. 24 elections.
Jim Allen, communications director for the Chicago Board of Elections, told the Daily Whale the question was removed because the required number of backing signatures was not submitted. The measure required 1,079 signatures in the 38th Ward and only 835 were collected.
A sufficient number of signatures were submitted to the Board of elecitons to get the question on the ballot in 37 other wards. Despite his opposition to the measure, the Chicago Tribune reported last week that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s campaign would not seek to verify the authenticity of the validating signatures.
The mayor argued that if the city transitioned to an elected school board, he would still be charged with leading the school district but would lack the “accountability” and “ability” to do so, according to the Tribune.
-Tom Butala