Organizers who work in education, homelessness and housing justice shared several tips on how Chicagoans can get more involved in key local issues affecting our communities in 2025.

By Jerrel Floyd and Ahmad Sayles

(L-R) Kathleen Hayes of Raise Your Hand, Electa Bey and Diane Limas of Communities United, and Kiara Hardin of the Obama CBA Coalition speak at City Bureau’s Public Newsroom on Nov. 21, 2024. (W.D. Floyd/City Bureau)

As Chicagoans eye an incoming presidential administration with the potential to drastically shift government programs, panelists at City’s Bureau’s latest Public Newsroom discussed how keeping elected officials accountable can start close to home   

City Bureau welcomed panelists from Raise Your Hand, Communities United and the Obama CBA Coalition to share updates on Chicago’s first elected school board, the proposed community benefits agreement in South Shore related to the Obama Presidential Center and homelessness prevention efforts. The event was chiefly inspired by the Civic Reporting fall fellows, who focused on covering community stories related to elections.

Here’s what they said:

Elected School Board

Kathleen Hayes, a former Civic Reporting Fellow, worked as an election program coordinator for Raise Your Hand, an advocacy organization that supports parents in strengthening public education for all children in Illinois. Hayes is an experienced education reporter with 25 years working in teaching, education policy, CPS central office work and higher education. She has also been a CPS parent since 2013.

This year marked the first time Chicagoans went to the polls to elect members of the Chicago Board of Education, making it one of most closely watched local races. 

Chalkbeat has a rundown on the school board election results. 

The ten winners will comprise about half of the Chicago  Board of Education, alongside 11 mayoral appointees. All 21 seats will be on the ballot in 2026, leading to a fully elected board in 2027.

School board members oversee a $9 billion budget in one of the country’s largest school districts. Members approve annual spending on school buildings and programs, hire and evaluate the CPS CEO, establish district policies and much more. 

Hayes encourages community members to keep up  with the school board– even if you are not a parent –  to promote a more collective mindset versus an individualistic one.This is especially important with school board elections and campaign donor influence, Hayes said.

Everyone has an interest in establishing a “healthy” public school system, she said. 

"Because healthy public schools mean that those kids become members of society who choose to be productive in the ways that best suit them," she said.

Hayes’ accountability tips:

  • Don't CPS alone. Get together with other people who really are concerned.

  • Attend Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education webinars. Raise Your Hand is an advocacy organization that supports parents in strengthening public education for all children in Illinois.

  • On the CPS board of education website, community members can sign up to make public comments to speak on issues that concern them.

  • Visit Illinois Sunshine and look up school board candidates to see who donated to their campaign.

  • Visit the Illinois State Board of Elections website to look up candidate disclosures.

Community Benefits Agreement in South Shore

With the Obama Center and other developments raising concerns around evictions and gentrification, the Obama CBA is fighting to safeguard housing for South Shore residents.

In November, around 89 percent of voters in three 7th Ward precincts and one 8th Ward precinct voted in favor of a referendum asking their alderperson and the mayor to support the CBA.

Kiara Hardin, a project manager, organizer and Obama CBA Coalition member, spoke to public newsroom attendees to echo that support. She highlighted that the CBA offered a variety of housing protections, from home improvement grants to affordable housing, to push back against the threat of displacement.

"The CBA is me trying to fight tooth and nail for the freedoms of [South Shore] and the rest of Chicago, too," she said.

Hardin’s tips:

  • Donate to South Side Together at southsidetogether.org/donate

  • Find out who your local alderperson is and hold them accountable to supporting the CBA. Community members can visit the city of Chicago's website to learn who their alderperson is.

  • Trust people power and remember that elected officials have their power because community members gave it to them.

  • Support canvasing and phone bank initiatives.

  • Learn more about the Obama CBA and pushback against any misconceptions like the CBA being about creating concentrated poverty.

Preventing Homelessness

Homelessness in the city of Chicago increased to more than 76,000 people according to a recent report by the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness.

Diane Limas, the board vice president of Communities United, and Electa Bey, a grassroots leader, spoke to Public Newsroom attendees about strategies they are using to fight unfair evictions, displacements and homelessness. 

One of their most impactful strategies Limas highlighted was the creation of R.O.O.T.S or Renters Organizing Ourselves to Stay. It’s a program that involves activating Communities United’s relationships with well-resourced developers to do things like purchase foreclosed two-four flats and keep them affordable. 

Limas said they used that same program to offer apartment spaces to migrants who were living in shelters and being turned away from other rental spaces because of their citizenship status. 

With the homeless population, Bey said connecting with people directly and giving them a voice is one of their most successful practices. She shared that she also navigated housing insecurity and used Communities United as a resource.  

"Whenever you have something that you believe in, especially homelessness, that's not going away, you have to fight for somebody else," Bey said. "It can't be for yourself."

Communities United’s tips:

  • Give those who are navigating homelessness the platform and opportunity to voice their concerns.

  • Make those who are facing homelessness feel like they belong.

  • Listen to their lived experiences, listen to their stories.

  • When talking about solutions, make sure those who are navigating housing insecurity are at the table.

  • Go out and talk to people and give them respect.

  • Don't be discouraged if when connecting with people most impacted that you end up having a negative experience with someone struggling with mental health concerns.

  • Push officials to focus less on shelters and more on permanent housing and the services that come with it. "People are going to leave those shelters and they're going to be out on the street again," Limas said.

  • If an alderman doesn't support a homeless initiative, get their voters on your side. Then ask them to call their alderman and ask why they aren't supporting the initiative. (Potentially do both in the same conversation).

  • Build a relationship with your alder.

Be on the lookout for upcoming stories from City Bureau around the recent election season.

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