Notably, CTU and SEIU, which represents service employees, are backing opposing candidates for school board president. Jessica Biggs, a current board member and SEIU\u2019s pick, reported a $150,000 contribution from the union Tuesday. Hilario Dominguez, CTU\u2019s political director, has reported nearly $100,000 in in-kind donations from the teachers union over the past month.<\/p>\n
The budget has emerged as a dividing line between those candidates and the two unions. The CTU-aligned majority of the Chicago Board of Education passed a $10.11 billion budget<\/a> last month with a surprise amendment to include $150 million in unconfirmed state funding. District leaders warned that the move could leave CPS vulnerable to midyear cuts if the money doesn\u2019t materialize.<\/p>\n While CTU supported the plan, SEIU has called it a \u201cgamble\u201d that is \u201cdependent on state funding that does not exist.\u201d Then, the dispute spiraled into an online spat this week between Driver and Potter, the CTU vice president.<\/p>\n When Driver posted on Facebook condemning the spending plan, Potter commented, \u201cNot sure what your interest is in school finance suddenly.\u201d He questioned why the district shouldn\u2019t budget on unpromised state funding while assuming tax increment financing dollars<\/a>, which rely on City Hall.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t play with me,\u201d Driver shot back before challenging Potter to a public debate. \u201cOtherwise, stay TF off my page with these rude (expletive) comments. You have caused immense harm to Black and Brown low wage workers at CPS.\u201d<\/p>\n After Driver followed up with \u201cThe privilege here needs to be checked,\u201d Potter responded: \u201cI see I hit a nerve.\u201d<\/p>\n The amended budget directs CPS officials to use the shaky funds to reverse the layoffs of more than 1,500 staff members \u2014 a feat that has proven difficult<\/a> just weeks before school starts. School budgets had been finalized in early July.<\/p>\n In a letter to CPS CEO Macquline King on Monday, SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer called for a \u201cconcrete, public, written plan\u201d addressing what will happen if the funding doesn\u2019t come through. Palmer also wrote to Illinois House Speaker Emanuel \u201cChris\u201d Welch<\/a> and other lawmakers who had pledged to advocate for more funding, asking for their plan of action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe told this board that hope is not a budget line, and we meant it,\u201d Palmer said in a statement.<\/p>\n CTU, meanwhile, has contended that the revised budget is a pressure tactic to force lawmakers to act \u2014 arguing that there is growing momentum in Springfield for increased funding.<\/p>\n Based on the state\u2019s funding formula, the district is only 70% fully funded, down from 73%<\/a> last year. The CTU-aligned bloc of the board has argued that the state should bear responsibility for the district\u2019s layoffs and other programmatic cuts.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Board of Education has finally insisted that the state do its part,\u201d Potter said at a news conference Wednesday. \u201cThis pressure is working.\u201d<\/p>\n CTU has asked CPS officials to engage in impact bargaining to immediately rescind the layoffs of its members. The district sent an email to principals Tuesday night, obtained by the Tribune, asking school leaders to rank their most critical staffing needs in an effort to restore some positions.<\/p>\n Driver told the Tribune that his social media comments boil down to \u201ca big disagreement about the way the board has conducted its business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a very clear power dynamic here, where there\u2019s one union that controls the Board of Education and the mayor\u2019s office,\u201d Driver said. \u201cI would make the argument that this is not two unions fighting. It\u2019s a union defending itself against bullies who don\u2019t know when to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Hilario](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ctc-l-school-board-filing-14_263002573.jpg\")
Hilario Dominguez, the political director of the Chicago Teachers Union, chats with supporter Mary Gardner before filing his petitions to get on the ballot for Chicago Board of Education president at the Board of Elections site in the Loop on May 26, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n