From left, Robert Jones, Karin Norington-Reaves, Rosita Chatonda, Adam Parrott-Sheffer and Che "Rhymefest" Smith. [Campaign social media]

The race to represent District 10 on the Chicago Board of Education next year pits Adam Parrott-Sheffer, Che "Rhymefest" Smith, Karin Norington-Reaves, Rev. Robert Jones and Rosita Chatonda in a five-way contest. Four candidates are officially on the ballot, and Chatonda is running as a write-in.

The powerful Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has endorsed a candidate in all 10 school board races and endorsed Jones in the 10th district, which includes Oakland, Kenwood, South Shore, Burnside, Pullman, Calumet Heights, South Chicago, Avalon Park, South Deering, East Side, much of Woodlawn and Hyde Park and parts of Douglas. 

Contribution limits have been lifted in the race as a result of the levels of spending to support Norington-Reaves. In all but one of the board races, limits have been lifted.

As of Oct. 29, Jones has reported at least $314,438 received by his campaign committee in direct and in-kind contributions and transfers. More than 67 percent of that funding, $212,568, is from CTU’s political committees.

The teachers union’s committees have transferred $117,800 into Jones’ committee and have provided $94,768 worth of in-kind contributions in the form of field staff and services, data consulting, radio and newspaper advertising, legal fees, paid canvassing work, polling and photoshoot preparation.  

Among individual contributions, People United for Action (PUA) has contributed at least $5,100, Lem’s Bar-B-Q owner Emma Harvey has donated $1,250, the Cook County College Teachers Union’s political committee has donated $500, PUA Chair Rod Wilson has given at least $500 and Theresa Preston-Werner — who co-founded the climate action-focused philanthropic organization 128 Collective Foundation and who has donated to CTU-backed candidates in most school board races — donated $2,000, according to State Board of Elections records. 

Jones reported no other transfers besides CTU, but he did report $55,230 worth of in-kind contributions from Our Schools Chicago’s political committee for field services, direct mail, petition consulting and notarizing work and field organizing. His committee also reported $28,500 in-kind from Grassroots PAC for field services and more than $8,000 in-kind from United Working Families PAC for phone calls and text messaging.

Norington-Reaves is the candidate backed by charter school and school choice interest groups, which have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the board races to back candidates. The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) Action Independent Committee has spent $224,692 to support Norington-Reaves through mailers and digital media. The pro-school choice Urban Center’s independent political expenditure committee has also spent $32,468 on printed campaign materials and text messaging to support her. 

Norington-Reaves’ own political action committee has reported receiving $81,025 as of Oct. 29 in direct contributions and transfers. Her committee has reported $10,000 in total transfers, consisting of a $2,500 transfer from the Chicagoland Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC, a $5,000 transfer from the INCS Action PAC and a $2,500 transfer from the LiUNA labor union PAC.

Norington-Reaves, chief executive officer of youth business and technology-career training firm i.c.stars, has also raised at least $71,025 in direct contributions. INCS Board of Directors member Jim Frank has given at least $6,900, and his wife Karen Frank has donated at least $2,000. DRW trading firm founder and CEO Don Wilson has also given at least $6,900, as has financial advisor and Chicago Public Education Fund board member Stuart Lucas. 

INCS Board Chair David Weinberg has given Norington-Reaves $5,000, Seth Weinberger, the board chair and founder of the early childhood literacy nonprofit Chapter One USA, has given at least $5,000, and Perspectives Charter Schools CEO Deborah Stevens has given at least $1,000. 

Smith is a musician, and his committee has reported receiving $123,647 in direct and in-kind contributions, loans and transfers as of Oct. 29. His committee has reported $102,000 in loans. That consists of $25,000 from Smith himself and $30,000 through his company Litehouse Music, and his wife Heather Smith, a human resources director for Nike, has lent the campaign $47,000. 

Smith has also reported $7,200 in transfers into his committee, including a $1,000 from 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez’s committee, $1,000 from Rep. Kam Buckner’s (D-Chicago) committee, $1,000 from Rep. Nick Smith’s (D-Chicago) committee, $1,000 from former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s political committee, $3,000 from the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council and $200 from the Seventeenth Ward Democratic Organization, which supports Ald. David Moore (17).

Smith’s committee has also reported $13,697 in individual contributions, with some notable donors including $1,000 from Venkatara Chandrasekaran, a director at United Airlines, $1,500 from Chicago Police officer Damon Stewart, $1,000 from artist Francine Turk and at least $500 from Los Angeles-based talk show host Tavis Smiley. 

Parrott-Sheffer is a managing partner at an organizational coaching and consulting business with his wife and an adjunct faculty member at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. His committee has reported $76,413 in mostly direct and some in-kind contributions. Most of his reported funding has been through individual donations, and he’s reported at least $40,000 from his parents, Rev. Thom Parrott-Sheffer and Joan Parrott-Sheffer.  

Parrott-Sheffer’s committee has also reported $1,100 from Dia Bryant, a West Orange, New Jersey-based consultant for Context Matters, LLC, $1,000 from Kathryn Boudett, a senior lecturer at Harvard University on education and director of the Data Wise Project, $1,500 from the New York-based organization Leadership for Educational Equity, $1,500 from Parrott-Sheffer’s business Post Script Coaching and Consulting, $6,900 from Silicon Valley investor Arthur Rock and $1,000 from Stephen Peng, an executive at tech firm PwC. 

Chatonda, the founder of the Coalition and Alliance of Urban School Educators, does not appear to have an active campaign committee. 

Candidates are seeking two-year terms on the board, which is phasing in an all-elected board member model. In January 2025, 10 elected board members and 10 mayor-appointed board members will take office, and the mayor will appoint a board president. Early voting is ongoing in the school board race.  

Following the 2026 elections, all 20 board members and the board president will be elected by voters and seated in January 2027.