Over 6,000 Local School Council Members Elected in Chicago

Over 6,000 Local School Council Members Elected in Chicago

USHLI successfully completed its contract with the Chicago Public School's Office of Local School Councils. Under the terms of the contract USHLI recruited and assigned 1,378 judges to oversee the elections, which were held at over 400 elementary and middle schools and over 80 high schools.  An estimated 1,200 Latinos were elected to Local School Councils.  Members will serve two-year terms.  Under Illinois law, voters do not have to be U.S. citizens to vote in Local School Council elections or to be elected.    The USHLI effort was led by Field Coordinator Adrian Calderon, who recruited, trained, and directed a temporary crew of 10 throughout the 4-month contract.  USHLI staff helping out during the home stretch included Luis Quijano, Angela Hanna, Dulce Diaz, and Victoria Villalpando, and our intern from Loyola University Chicago, Megan Shannon. USHLI is grateful to the CPS Office of Local School Councils for the opportunity to participate in this enormous exercise in civic engagement; designed to be inclusive of as many voters as possible and not exclusive to fewer voters.     In addition to its critically acclaimed Student Leadership Series  (SLS), USHLI also sponsors Project CED (Citizens for an Educated Democracy, Project SED (Students for an Educated Democracy), Grassroots Leadership Development Program (GLDP), Collegiate Leadership Development Program (CLDP), conducts research on Latino political demographics, promotes financial education, awards scholarships and paid internships, and sponsors the largest Latino leadership conference in the nation.   Click HERE to view a 90-second video featuring the program components of USHLI. For more information visit www.ushli.org.