>> CHICAGOANS ARE SET TO SEE A NEW OFFICE ON THEIR BALLOT IN 2024.

FOR THE FIRST TIME VOTERS WILL ELECT MEMBERS TO CHICAGO'S BOARD OF EDUCATION.

IT'S A MASSIVE TRANSFORMATION AS BOARD MEMBERS WERE PREVIOUSLY APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR WHILE ELECTION DAY IS SET THE DISTRICTS THAT BOARD MEMBERS WILL RUN IN HAVE NOT BEEN DECIDED.

STATE LAWMAKERS HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS ALL VYING FOR REPRESENTATION WHILE ALSO TRYING TO BEAT THE CLOCK.

SO CANDIDATES HAPPENED OF CAMPAIGNING TIME.

JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE IN THE MAP.

OUR VALERIE LEONARD, CO-FOUNDER OF ILLINOIS, AFRICAN-AMERICANS FOR EQUITABLE REDISTRICTING, JESSICA KAHN.

YES, SENIOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER AT KIDS FOR CHICAGO AND GRACE CHAN MCKIBBEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE COALITION FOR A BETTER CHINESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

THANKS TO THE 3 OF YOU FOR JOINING US, VALERIE LEONARD, HOW WILL AN ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD FUNCTION DIFFERENTLY FROM WHAT IS CURRENTLY THE APPOINTED SCHOOL BOARD?

IDEALLY, IF YOU KNOW, IF THE MAP THAT FOR >> IS PASSED, IT WILL FUNCTION AS SUCH A WAY THAT IT WILL ALIGN SEEING RESOURCES WITH PUBLIC SCHOOL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS, IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES.

>> WE KNOW THAT IT'S SOMETHING MANY COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR FOR A VERY LONG IT DID MAKE THE CASE THAT IT WOULD ALSO ALLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO HAVE MORE OF AN OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THEIR SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DEFINITELY WOULD.

WHAT?

HOW HOW MIGHT THAT LIKE I SAID, THE WAY WE HAVE DESIGN, OUR MAP HAS WHAT 10 DISTRICTS, 5 DISTRICTS.

I'M 5 WARTS AND WE THINK DISTRICT RIGHT.

AND THEN YOU HAVE 2 REPRESENTATIVES IN EACH ONE OF THOSE DISTRICTS AND THE 7 REPRESENTATIVES WOULD ALL WORK TOGETHER.

>> TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES FROM CPS AS WELL AS FROM THE CITY TO SUPPORT THE OUTCOMES.

WE REALLY DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW.

RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A MORE CENTRALIZED SYSTEM AND PEOPLE FROM THE COMMUNITY MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE RUNNING THE SCHOOLS AND EVEN IF OUR VOICES ARE NOT NECESSARILY >> JESSICA, ONE OF YOUR ISSUES WITH THE MAP IS THE LATINO CPS STUDENT POPULATION IS MAJORITY LATINO.

47% LATINOS MAKE UP 29% OF THE CITY POPULATION, THOUGH, AND LAWMAKERS HAVE BASED THE OFF OF THE CITY POPULATION THE STUDENT BODY POPULATION.

WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THAT PROPOSAL?

>> WELL, ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD TASK FORCE, WHICH IS COMPRISED OF PARENTS THAT ARE THROUGHOUT THE CITY >> CPS, PARENTS AND MAJORITY BLACK AND LATINA PARENTS AS WELL.

>> THEY REALLY WANT THE SCHOOL BOARD TO REPRESENT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF CPS STUDENTS.

SO THE MAP THAT THEY'VE PROPOSED IS A MAP THAT HAS 8 MAJORITY LATINA DISTRICTS, 7 BLACK AND 5 WHITE, WHICH WOULD GET AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO REPRESENT TEAM CPS.

DEMOGRAPHICS WHILE STILL TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CITY'S POPULATION AND, >> YOU KNOW, ALL THE THE THE LAWS DISTRICT TEAM AND FOR THAT REASON BECAUSE THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE OF RACIALLY DIVERSE BOARD.

THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH OUT THERE THAT SAYS THE BOARDS THAT ARE RACIALLY DIVERSE, RACE INTO ACCOUNT MORE.

THEY'RE MORE EQUITABLE IN THEIR SCHOOLS ARE MORE INCLINED TO TO LOOK AT ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE.

AND THERE ARE ACTUALLY BETTER STUDENT OUTCOMES.

SO THAT'S WHAT OUR PARENTS WANT.

THEY WANT A BOARD THAT REPRESENTS THE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC AND ONE WAY OF GETTING THEIRS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A DISTRICT MAP THAT REPRESENTS THE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC GRACE.

YOUR GOAL HAS BEEN TO ENSURE ASIAN AMERICAN PLURALITY IN THE MAP.

WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE?

WILL THAT MEAN?

YEAH.

LAST YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE AN ASIAN-AMERICAN MAJORITY WORKED WITH IN THE 50 WORDS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

>> THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN SOCIETY IS THAT FOLKS ARE SPREAD OUT SO THAT NOT REALLY POSSIBLE TO HAVE A MAJORITY ASIAN AMERICAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

BUT WE BELIEVE THAT IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE WON LEAST ONE FOR LED TO STRICT, WHICH MEANS ONE DISTRICT WHERE ASIANS WOULD NOT MAKE UP 50%.

THAT WOULD MAKE THE LARGEST PROPORTION DEMOGRAPHICS.

IT IS IMPORTANT JUST LIKE JESSICA SET FOR THIS SCHOOL BOARD TO EXIT REFLECT THE STUDENT BODY.

WE SAW JUST NOW THAT ASIAN AMERICANS REPRESENT 4.5% OF CPS, WHICH ROUGHLY EMBARRASS 6.8% OF THE CITY.

SO WE BE ABLE TO HAVE SOMEBODY THAT CAN REPRESENT THAT VOICE.

AND, YOU KNOW, GIVE ME A SENSE OF WHY THAT REPRESENTATION IS IMPORTANT.

OBVIOUSLY THE EU NEEDS THE LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES, FOR EXAMPLE, THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN THOSE COMMUNITIES MIGHT BE DIFFERENT AND SOME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT REPRESENTED ON THE SCHOOL BOARD.

>> YEAH.

AND THE ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY LANGUISH ACCESS PRETTY PRIMARY.

SO.

>> BEING ABLE TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE SCHOOL FORD REPRESENTED THAT.

THAT KNOW THAT UNDERSTANDS THAT THE ESL NEEDS FOR THE STUDENTS AS WELL AS OF SERVICES THAT THE PARENTS KNEW WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT.

I'M JESSICA KIDS FIRST IS ALSO CITED ISSUES WITH NON-LIFE NON CITIZENS ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BOARD.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE ISSUES?

>> WELL, CURRENTLY THE WAY THE LAW IS AND NON-CITIZENS.

AND THAT INCLUDES.

>> KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE OUR RESIDENTS, REFUGEES AND DOCUMENT A DOCUMENT.

IT >> WON'T BE ABLE TO VOTE FOR THE FOR THEIR ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, NOR WILL THEY BE ABLE TO RUN TO SERVE ON THE ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD.

AND WHEN WE CONSIDER CHICAGO BEING A CHICAGO, A CITY OF IMMIGRANTS WHERE THERE ARE A LOT OF NON-CITIZENS AND MANY OF THOSE NONCITIZENS HAVE THEIR CHILDREN IN CHICAGO.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR THEM NOT TO BE ABLE TO VOTE OR TO RUN IS REALLY A SILENCING THEIR VOICE.

AND SO FOR US, THAT IS A MAJOR ISSUE.

WE'VE ACTUALLY RECENTLY DID A SURVEY OF CHICAGO RESIDENTS, 700 PLUS RESIDENTS ASKING THEM HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THIS ISSUE AS WELL AS SOME OF OTHER TOPICS THEIR PARENTS HAVE BROUGHT UP WILL RELEASING THAT IN OUR TOWN HALL LATER ON THIS WEEK ON THURSDAY.

OKAY.

WE'LL BE LOOKING OUT FOR I'M AWARE OF THAT.

COMING UP.

I'M VALERIE THAT CURRENT DEADLINE FOR STATE LAWMAKERS TO APPROVE THE MAPS IS APRIL.

1ST.

YOU'RE ADVOCATING FOR APPROVAL DURING VETO SESSION THIS MONTH.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

THAT'S BEST?

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.

BUT BEFORE WE GO INTO THAT, CAN I RESPOND TO A COUPLE RESPONSES THAT HURT?

>> I THINK IT'S NOBLE TO DISTRICTS AROUND PARENTS.

BUT QUITE FRANKLY, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS CONSTITUTION, THE 14TH AMENDMENT, DID AWAY WITH COUNTING 3 OF EVERY 5 SLAVES.

REMEMBER, THERE WAS THIS TO DO ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE NORTH WANTED TO COUNT SLAVES IN THE SOUTH WANTED TO SLIPS.

SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE HAD A COMPROMISE THAT 3 FIFTHS PERSONS WE DID AWAY WITH THAT WITH THE 14TH AMENDMENT.

SO I WOULD THINK THAT THE COURTS WOULD LOOK AT CHILDREN IN VERY MUCH THE SAME WAY YOU CAN'T NECESSARILY SAY THAT JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE MORE CHILDREN IN THEIR DISTRICTS MORE SCHOOLS IN THEIR DISTRICTS THAT THEY SHOULD.

IN FACT, HAVE A LOUDER VOICE IN GREATER REPRESENTATION AS IT RELEASED AS IT RELATES TO THAT COMMITTEE, THE NON CITIZENS COMMITTEE, WE IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY FOR WE TAKE HUGE ISSUE WITH THAT.

WE SAW THE LANGUAGE IN THE ENABLING LEGISLATION AND WE NOTICE THE STATE USES DIVERSITY RIGHT?

BUT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE COMMUNITIES BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A VOTE, THERE IS A COMMITTEE THAT WILL PROVIDE VOICE AND CONSTANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ON CITIZENS AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

AND WE DON'T HAVE THAT SAME MECHANISMS.

THAT'S A MECHANISM FOR BLACK CHILDREN.

SO WE ARE PROPOSING A STANDING COMMITTEE FOR BLACK ACHIEVEMENT SO THAT, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHO'S IN OFFICE, WE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE ACHIEVEMENT.

YES, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 15 SECONDS BUT WE KNOW THAT THE CURRENT DEADLINE FOR STATE LAWMAKERS TO APPROVE THE MAPS IS APRIL.

1ST.

>> YOU'RE HOPING THAT WILL BE DURING VETO SESSION.

A BIG CONCERN ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE WILL HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO RUN FOR AN END TO CAMPAIGN ONCE THEY FIGURE OUT WHAT DISTRICT THEY'RE RUNNING IN.

AND WE KNOW THAT THE NEXT SENATE HEARING IS ALSO ON THIS SO SOMETHING WILL BE KEEPING AN EYE OUT BUT WE'LL HAVE TO LEAVE IT THERE.

THANKS TO VALERIE LATER, JESSICA, KINDNESS AND GRACE CHAN MCKIBBEN FOR JOINING THANK