Retired police officer and community advocate face off in Far NW Side District 1a Chicago School Board race

District 1a neighborhoods: O’Hare, Norwood Park, Forest Glen, Jefferson Park, Dunning, Edison Park

A retired Chicago police officer allied with two local aldermen is looking to unseat a longtime community development advocate who gained an incumbent advantage when the mayor appointed him to represent this district on Chicago’s Far Northwest Side.

Ed Bannon is hoping to fend off Margie Luczak’s challenge with support from the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union, which represents school support staff. But Luczak has secured the backing of special interest groups that favor school choice and charter schools.

Although the school board elections are nonpartisan, political undercurrents are present in voters’ decisions about which candidate aligns with their values. On the Far Northwest Side, voters have been more receptive to conservative candidates than much of Chicago and could be more sympathetic to an “anti-establishment” platform.

It’s one of the few areas in Chicago that leaned toward President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. And in 2023, many voters here picked former CPS CEO Paul Vallas over Mayor Brandon Johnson.

But the race is inherently much narrower in its scope of issues than a Congressional or presidential campaign, which could reveal diverging attitudes specifically on the topic of education.

This Far Northwest Side district is home to 22 schools that enroll more white students than Chicago Public Schools as a whole, but are more diverse than the voting population. Families here choose their neighborhood public schools at the highest rate in the city — a whopping 75% compared to a citywide average of about 46%.

Although Bannon was appointed by Johnson, he hasn’t always aligned with him, most notably when he voted last year in favor of the CPS budget plan Johnson’s other appointees were trying to block. Bannon’s record has earned him endorsements from the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Illinois State Council.

Voters looking for a change in leadership may opt for Luczak, who served on Chicago’s police force for more than 25 years. In many ways, her campaign represents a foil to Bannon’s union-backed candidacy.

She proudly says she’s not a “CTU puppet” and is supported by contributions from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and The Urban Center, an organization that advocates for centrist leadership and school choice, including private schools. But she has little direct experience in education.