Che "Rhymefest" Smith, the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist who won a South Side seat on the Chicago school board two years ago as an independent, is the only candidate whose name will appear on the District 10a ballot, and he is being challenged by a write-in campaign from Tameka Walton, a nonprofit leader backed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
District 10a stretches from Bronzeville to South Shore and takes in South Shore, Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park, Kenwood, South Chicago, Douglas and Oakland. Its 33 schools include some of the South Side's most sought-after, among them Kenwood Academy High School and Murray Language Academy Elementary School, alongside several neighborhood schools the Sun-Times describes as considered low-performing and having lost enrollment in recent years. More than 88% of the district's students are Black and nearly 7% are Hispanic, according to figures compiled by Chalkbeat.
Smith, who won his seat in 2024 over candidates backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, said his community ties carried him then. "I will tell you that my connections in the community got me here, my work got me here," he said. "Money didn't get me here."
This time, the paper reports, Smith is a known entity who has consistently voted against items pushed by the CTU, and he has drawn endorsements and donations from groups that oppose the union. He says he would welcome the union's support and counsel, and he has raised more than $100,000 in campaign donations.
Walton is running as a write-in candidate after her name was removed from the ballot. She said she represents two important constituencies Smith does not: she is a mother who had to advocate to get her children into CPS schools where they could thrive, and she is the founder and executive director of a nonprofit that works in schools with children who have experienced trauma.
"I'm looking beyond how much trouble it was for me to navigate (CPS), but I'm also looking at, as a parent, the things that I want to see done," she said. "The school should be a safe and welcoming space for both the students and the parents."
Walton has picked up the CTU's endorsement and has received donations from the CTU PAC and the CTU-affiliated Our Schools PAC.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- A write-in campaign is a heavy handicap in any race, so the contest tests whether union backing can overcome a ballot line that carries only one name.
- District 10a covers some of the South Side's most sought-after schools as well as several losing enrollment, so the outcome bears on how those competing pressures are managed.
- Smith's record of voting against CTU-backed items makes the race a local measure of the union's influence on the board.
Background
Chicago's school board was long appointed by the mayor. In recent years the city has moved toward a partly elected board, and Smith was among the members elected in that first round of voting. The board oversees the Chicago Public Schools system, the third-largest school district in the United States, and decisions on school closures, admissions and staffing have made its elections closely watched by the teachers union and charter school advocates alike.
Key Perspectives
Che "Rhymefest" Smith: says his community connections and his work, not money, won him his seat two years ago, and that he would welcome the CTU's support and counsel even as groups opposing the union back him.
Tameka Walton: says she speaks for parents who had to fight to get their children into schools where they could thrive and for children who have experienced trauma, and that a school should be a safe and welcoming space for students and parents.
Chicago Teachers Union: endorsed Walton and has donated to her campaign through its PAC and the CTU-affiliated Our Schools PAC.
What to Watch
- The result on election day, and how much of the vote a write-in candidate can draw against a sole ballot name.
- Final campaign finance filings, given Smith's reported haul of more than $100,000 and the union money behind Walton.
- How CTU-backed candidates fare across the city's school board races, as a signal of the union's pull on the new board.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline describes a CTU-backed write-in challenge in the District 10a school board race.Chicago Sun-Times: “Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist faces CTU backed write-in candidate for South Side District 10a Chicago School Board race.”
- SupportedSmith is the only candidate whose name will appear on the District 10a ballot.Chicago Sun-Times: “Smith will be the lone name on the ballot to represent District 10a.”
- SupportedWalton is running as a CTU-endorsed write-in candidate.Chicago Sun-Times: “Walton picked up the CTU’s endorsement”
- SupportedSmith said, “I will tell you that my connections in the community got me here, my work got me here,”Chicago Sun-Times: ““I will tell you that my connections in the community got me here, my work got me here,” said the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist turned activist and politician.”
- SupportedSmith said, “Money didn't get me here.”Chicago Sun-Times: ““Money didn't get me here.””
- SupportedSmith won a school board seat in 2024 as an independent.Chicago Sun-Times: “When Che “Rhymefest” Smith won a seat on the school board two years ago, he proudly wore the moniker of an independent”
- SupportedSmith has consistently voted against items pushed by the CTU.Chicago Sun-Times: “Smith is now a known entity who has consistently voted against items pushed by the CTU”
- SupportedSmith has raised more than $100,000 in campaign donations.Chicago Sun-Times: “He’s raised more than $100,000 in campaign donations”
- SupportedWalton is running as a write-in candidate after her name was removed from the ballot.Chicago Sun-Times: “Tameka Walton, is running as a write-in candidate after her name was booted off the ballot.”
- SupportedWalton said, “I'm looking beyond how much trouble it was for me to navigate (CPS), but I'm also looking at, as a parent, the things that I want to see done,”Chicago Sun-Times: ““I’m looking beyond how much trouble it was for me to navigate (CPS), but I’m also looking at, as a parent, the things that I want to see done,” she said.”
- SupportedWalton said, “The school should be a safe and welcoming space for both the students and the parents.”Chicago Sun-Times: ““The school should be a safe and welcoming space for both the students and the parents.”
- SupportedWalton is the founder and executive director of a nonprofit that works in schools with children who have experienced trauma.Chicago Sun-Times: “She is also the executive director and founder of a nonprofit that works in schools with children who have experienced trauma.”