District 6a neighborhoods: Near North Side, West Town
The candidate supported by a billionaire-backed political group and charter proponents had a narrow lead over two progressives as of early Wednesday, but the race was too close to call.
With all precincts reporting, less than 1,000 votes separated Isaiah White, a school support worker; Anusha Thotakura, the incumbent who runs a statewide advocacy organization; and Brenda Lee Anderson, a Northwestern University lecturer on leave, according to the Associated Press.
The close race was somewhat unexpected. Voters in the area typically support more conservative candidates. But across the city, candidates supported by the Chicago Teachers Union are doing better than expected after being significantly outspent.
Thotakura got support from the CTU and the Service Employees International Union, which represents school support workers. She seems to be splitting the more left-leaning vote with Anderson, who was not backed by any special interests.
More than $500,000 was spent on White’s campaign by The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools, and the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. He also was endorsed by an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”
Given its location as part of the commercial and business center of the city, District 6a has just 14 public schools — the fewest of any school board electoral districts — and none are neighborhood high schools. The students who attend Chicago Public Schools here include a more diverse mix than in most districts, but the schools have more white and Asian American students than CPS as a whole.
Two of the schools in the district have the highest rating given by the state; while 60% had the lowest two distinctions, “developing” and “comprehensive,” according to 2026 state data released last week. There are now six levels of designations, up from the five up last year when the bottom two were called “comprehensive” and “intensive.”
Thotakura’s and White’s main priorities are to boost reading and math scores. Anderson’s main goal is to fix CPS’ chronic budget crisis.
Contributing: Reema Amin, Chalkbeat Chicago
