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Dunning resident, Dever LSC member Ed Bannon named to Chicago school board
by BRIAN NADIG
Dunning resident and Dever Local School Council member Ed Bannon is being named to the Chicago school board, which will be a hybrid of elected and appointed members until 2027 when it becomes fully elected.
“I’m very excited,” Bannon said. “It’s a challenge but that’s part of the reason I’m happy to be part of it. … I look forward to contributing.”
Bannon will serve as one of the two representatives from District 1, which covers the Far Northwest Side. The other representative, Jennifer Custer, was elected last November.
Bannon said that he was recommended for the post and that the mayor’s office interviewed him before he eventually met with Mayor Brandon Johnson. The board will consist of 10 elected members and 10 members and a chairperson appointed by the mayor until 2027, when all members will be elected.
Bannon said that he and the mayor, a former Chicago Teachers Union employee whose mayoral campaign was backed by the union, discussed in general terms about bringing resources to schools and the overall importance of education but that he was not asked about specific votes on key issues which he could be casting when he joins the board on Jan. 15.
The board has been discussing whether to fire Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Pedro Martinez and also is in talks about a new teachers contract.
Bannon said that some issues could be decided by the current board prior to the new members being seated next month and said that as a board member he will be listening and learning about a variety of issues before he makes up his mind.
He did add, “Neighborhood schools are not talked about enough as part of CPS,” echoing a school system initiative to give more support to neighborhood schools.
Bannon, a former newspaper reporter who once served as general manager of Lerner Newspapers, has been on the Dever LSC since 2015 and in 2016 chaired its principal selection committee. He was a parent member until 2023 and then became a community member after his last child graduated from Dever.
Bannon said that he is not sure if he can serve on both the school board and a school council but that even if he could, he likely will be stepping down form the LSC to avoid any potential conflicts and “there’s just so many hours in a day.”
Bannon unsuccessfully ran for the 38th Ward aldermanic seat in 2023.
When asked about Bannon’s appointment, Alderman Nicholas Sposato (38th) said, “It’s the mayor’s choice. He can choose anyone.”
Bannon said that he does not necessarily consider the appointment a stepping stone to another elected office and that he remains undecided on whether to run for the school board in two years. He said that his focus right now will be how the school system can be best managed to the greater benefit of the schools.
School board members do not receive a salary.
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