What We Found — IllinoisSchoolDistrictAudit.org

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New Here? Start With the Plain English Glossary

Terms like "OMA violation," "bond referendum," "TIF district," and "SEI disclosure" get thrown around constantly in school finance — but nobody explains what they actually mean for regular people. The glossary translates every term on this site into plain English and explains why each one matters to you as a taxpayer or parent.

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Topic 1 of 10

💰 Follow the Money — Bonds, Budgets & Financial Red Flags

Where does $30 billion a year actually go? We tracked every school bond, every vendor payment, and every financial report filed with the state. What we found: dozens of districts with bond borrowing that doesn't add up, vendors getting paid millions with no competitive bidding, and a $18 billion tax trick that quietly drains school budgets. These reports explain all of it in plain English.

BONDSLIVE

$47 Billion in School Borrowing — Is Yours on This List?

Schools borrow money just like people take out mortgages — except they're borrowing YOUR tax money, and you're responsible for paying it back. This database tracks every school bond across all 864 Illinois districts. You'll see which districts have the biggest debt loads, which ones borrowed without asking voters first, and where the numbers don't add up. 247 districts have high-priority red flags.

The law: Most school borrowing over $10 million requires a public vote — a referendum. 30 ILCS 350 (Local Government Debt Reform Act) sets the rules. When schools use "working cash bonds," "debt certificates," or "alternate bonds" they can skip the voter approval requirement entirely. We flag every district doing this. Why it matters: if your district borrowed $50 million without asking you, your property taxes are paying for it for the next 20 years — and you had no say.

TIF

The Tax Trick Stealing $18 Billion From Your School

TIF stands for Tax Increment Financing — it's a legal mechanism that lets cities capture property tax money that would normally go to schools, and redirect it to development projects instead. Illinois has $18 billion in school tax base locked inside TIF districts right now. This report explains how it works, which districts are losing the most, and whether the law is being followed.

The law: 65 ILCS 5/11-74.4 (TIF Act) authorizes TIF districts but requires school districts to be notified and given a chance to negotiate "joint review board" agreements. Most school boards don't have the legal firepower to push back effectively. Why it matters: every dollar that goes into a TIF district is a dollar that doesn't pay for teachers, textbooks, or your kid's classroom. The school gets nothing while the development project gets subsidized.

VENDOR PAYMENTSNEW

$104.9 Billion Paid to Vendors — Who Got It?

Illinois school districts paid $104.9 billion to outside vendors between 2020 and 2024. That's food service, construction, transportation, legal services, consulting, insurance — all of it. We loaded all 677,000 payment records into a database and scanned for red flags: one company got $818 million for HVAC work; individual people received over $36 million each; and there's a mysterious $12.5 billion data anomaly we're still investigating.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-20.21 requires competitive bidding on contracts over $25,000. When a single vendor dominates a category across dozens of districts, it often means bidding rules are being ignored or manipulated. Why it matters: school vendor contracts are one of the most common corruption targets in Illinois public finance. Understanding who's getting paid is the first step to understanding why.

ANOMALIES

The Numbers That Don't Add Up — District by District

Every Illinois school district files an Annual Financial Report with the state. We analyzed all of them and flagged the outliers: districts with Life Safety fund balances that don't match their borrowing history, districts with active bond debt showing zero repayment, and fund allocations that violate the statutory limits. Salt Fork school district tops the list with a 34.6% life safety fund overallocation that has no legitimate explanation.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/17-2.11 (Fire Prevention and Safety fund) sets strict limits on how Life Safety money can be used. Districts cannot accumulate Life Safety funds in excess of approved project costs. Why it matters: Life Safety money is supposed to fix broken boilers and fire alarms — not sit in a slush fund. When the numbers don't add up, it's usually because something is being hidden.

MONEY MAP

The Full Money Trail — Donations, Contracts, and Who Connected Them

This is our master cross-reference: political donations linked to contract awards, bond underwriting fees linked to campaign contributions, and insurance broker relationships linked to school board member connections. Every documented dollar chain on the site is pulled together here. If you want to understand how money flows from taxpayers through school districts to politically connected businesses — this is the map.

The law: 5 ILCS 430 (State Ethics Act) and 105 ILCS 5/10-9 (board member financial disclosures) are supposed to make these connections visible. In practice, the disclosure system is full of holes. Why it matters: understanding the full money trail is how you hold people accountable — and how you identify who needs to be investigated next.

BOND MARKET

The Bond Business — Who Gets Paid When Schools Borrow

When a school district issues a bond, a whole chain of people get paid: bond attorneys, financial advisors, underwriters, and rating agencies. None of them teach a single child. This report maps the Illinois school bond ecosystem — which law firms dominate, which banks underwrite most deals, and how political connections determine who gets the fees.

The law: 30 ILCS 350 governs the bond issuance process but imposes no competitive bidding requirement on bond counsel or underwriter selection. This is a known loophole. Why it matters: a school that borrows $50 million might pay $1–2 million in fees to professionals who were chosen based on political relationships, not merit. That's your tax money.

ELECTIONS

2025 School Board Elections — Who Won and What It Means for Your Money

We tracked every 2025 Illinois school board election result and cross-referenced winners against our investigation database. Which incumbents kept their seats despite documented conflicts of interest? Which newly elected members have vendor relationships? Where did dark money PACs play a role? The results tell you who is now in control of your district's spending decisions.

The law: 10 ILCS 5/9 (Campaign Finance) requires disclosure of all contributions over $150. Dark money PACs exploit a loophole allowing committees to receive unlimited donations as long as they technically don't "coordinate" with candidates. Why it matters: the people who win these elections control billions in spending — yet most of these races get almost no media coverage.

Topic 2 of 10

🏛️ Who Runs Your Schools — And Are They Doing It Honestly?

Every Illinois school district is run by a 7-member elected board. These are your neighbors — but some of them are using those positions to benefit themselves, their families, or their political allies. We documented 23 conflicts of interest, board members voting before they were legally allowed to, family employment networks, and boards that haven't filled their own vacant seats on time. Here's what we found.

CONFLICTS

23 Board Members Making Money Off Their Own Districts

A school board member who votes to award a contract to a company they own, work for, or have a family relationship with is breaking the law — and in Illinois, it happens constantly. We documented 23 specific cases, including board members approving contracts with their own businesses, hiring family members to administrative positions, and voting on insurance contracts with brokers they personally know and benefit from.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1 prohibits any board member from having a financial interest in any contract with the district. Violations are a Class 3 felony. 5 ILCS 430 (Ethics Act) requires annual disclosure of financial interests. Why it matters: these aren't technicalities — every dollar paid to a conflicted vendor is a dollar not spent on your child's education, extracted by someone who was trusted with public authority.

ILLEGAL VOTES

They Voted Before They Were Legally Allowed To

Before a school board member can vote on anything — a budget, a contract, a hiring decision — they must take a sworn oath of office. It's a legal requirement, not a formality. We found multiple Illinois districts where newly seated board members voted on official business before they ever filed their oath. Every one of those votes is legally void — including contracts worth millions of dollars.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-16.5 requires every board member to take and file a prescribed oath before exercising any board authority. Actions taken by an improperly seated board can be challenged and voided in court. Why it matters: if a board approved a $5 million construction contract while an unsworn member was voting, that contract is legally challengeable — and the district could be sued by the losing bidder.

DUAL ROLES

The Same Person Running Multiple Government Bodies

In Illinois, it's legal (and common) for one person to simultaneously sit on a school board, a village council, a park district board, and a library board. This creates a web of overlapping interests where the same person is on both sides of decisions about shared services, joint contracts, and tax distributions. We mapped everyone doing this across all 864 districts.

The law: 5 ILCS 430 (Ethics Act) prohibits some dual-service conflicts but has broad exemptions for local government. 65 ILCS 5/11-74.4 governs TIF joint review boards — where a school board member often sits across the table from the same village council they also serve on. Why it matters: it's hard to fight for your school's share of tax revenue when the person doing the negotiating also works for the other side.

BOARD DATABASE

Who's Actually on Your School Board? — Complete 864-District Database

We compiled the complete board member roster for all 864 Illinois school districts — names, terms, oath filing status, and conflict of interest flags. Cross-referenced against county clerk SEI filings and ISBE board member registration records. Organized in 7 geographic batches from southernmost smallest counties to northern Illinois. Start with your region to find your specific board members.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-10 requires school board members to be registered Illinois voters in the district. 5 ILCS 430/4A-101 (State Ethics Act) requires all board members to file an annual Statement of Economic Interests with their county clerk. Why it matters: you can't hold your board accountable if you don't know who's on it — or whether their financial disclosures reveal conflicts with the contracts they're approving.

OVERSIGHT

The People Supposed to Oversee Schools — Are They Doing It?

Illinois has 35 Regional Offices of Education (ROEs) — regional supervisors who are supposed to monitor school boards and step in when something goes wrong. This report cards them on how well they're actually doing that. You'll see which ROEs have the most districts under financial watch, which have the highest density of governance failures, and which seem to be asleep at the wheel.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/3A (Regional Offices of Education) gives ROE superintendents authority to investigate board violations and refer cases to ISBE and the Attorney General. ROE superintendents are elected — which means political connections often determine how aggressively they enforce the law. Why it matters: ROEs are the first line of defense against local corruption. When they fail, there is no other automatic check.

Topic 3 of 10

⚖️ Laws Being Broken — What the Law Requires vs. What's Actually Happening

Illinois has strong laws protecting your right to know what your school board is doing: meeting notices must be posted 48 hours in advance, minutes must be published within 10 days, policy manuals must be on the district website, and certain legal protections must be disclosed. We found the vast majority of districts are violating at least one of these requirements. Here's the evidence.

RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Legal Rights Your School Is Required to Tell You About — But Didn't

Federal law requires every school to publicly identify a Title IX coordinator (the person who handles sex discrimination complaints), a Section 504 coordinator (disability rights), and a McKinney-Vento liaison (homeless student rights). If your child is being discriminated against, these are the people they're supposed to go to. We found hundreds of Illinois districts that don't post this information — meaning most students and families have no idea these rights even exist.

The law: 34 CFR §106.8 (Title IX coordinator, required under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972), 29 U.S.C. §794 (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act), 42 U.S.C. §11432 (McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act). These are federal requirements — violations can trigger loss of federal funding. Why it matters: these coordinators exist precisely because discrimination happens. Without the information, victims don't know who to call.

OMA VIOLATIONS

Your School Board Is Required to Meet in Public — Many Aren't

The Open Meetings Act is one of Illinois's most important transparency laws. It says school boards must post meeting agendas 48 hours in advance on their website, publish approved meeting minutes within 10 days, and only close meetings to the public for specific legal reasons. We audited every district and found systematic violations: agendas posted late, minutes never uploaded, and executive sessions held for reasons that don't qualify.

The law: 5 ILCS 120/2.02 (48-hour agenda posting requirement), 5 ILCS 120/2.06 (minutes must be posted within 10 days of approval), 5 ILCS 120/2 (closed session requirements — only 23 specific reasons are allowed). Violations are reported to the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor. Why it matters: the whole point of posting agendas and minutes is so you can know what your board is deciding before they decide it, and verify what they did afterward. Without this, the board operates in secret.

OATH VIOLATIONS

Board Members Who Voted Before Taking the Legal Oath of Office

See the full investigation in the "Who Runs Your Schools" section above. This is the legal analysis version — explaining why every contract, vote, and resolution passed by an improperly seated board is legally challengeable, what the courts have said about it, and what the remedies are for affected taxpayers and competing vendors.

105 ILCS 5/10-16.5 — oath before assuming duties. Actions by an unsworn board are void ab initio (void from the beginning). The legal theory is well-established in Illinois case law.

AUDIT TOOL

Check Any District: Oath Compliance Audit Checklist

An interactive tool that walks you step-by-step through verifying whether your school board members properly filed their oaths of office before voting. You don't need to be a lawyer. Enter your district and follow the checklist — it pulls the right questions, identifies the right records to request, and flags any violations it finds. Each step includes a ready-to-send FOIA letter.

105 ILCS 5/10-16.5 (oath requirement) and 5 ILCS 140 (Illinois FOIA Act — your right to request the records). Built on audit methodology developed through review of 120 district minute archives.

SAFETY FUNDS

Is Your School's Safety Fund Being Used for Safety?

Illinois law allows school districts to levy a special tax for fire prevention and life safety improvements — fixing boilers, upgrading fire alarms, improving building safety. But the money can only be used for approved safety projects. We found districts accumulating large Life Safety fund balances with no corresponding safety projects, and others spending the money on things that don't qualify.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/17-2.11 (Fire Prevention and Safety fund rules — requires ISBE approval for each project, restricts fund balance accumulation). The Regional Superintendent must certify safety plans. Why it matters: this is literally the fund for keeping your kids safe in school buildings. If it's being misused, that's both a safety issue and a financial crime.

HOW-TO GUIDE

How to Investigate Your School's Safety Spending (Step by Step)

A plain-English guide to investigating Life Safety fund usage in any Illinois school district. No legal or financial background required. You'll learn how to find your district's Life Safety fund balance, how to look up their approved safety projects on the state database, how to spot discrepancies, and what FOIA requests to send to dig deeper.

Uses public data from ISBE's EMMA bond database, the state AFR financial reporting system, and the ISBE Life Safety project approval database. Cites 105 ILCS 5/17-2.11 throughout with plain-English translations.

Topic 4 of 10

🤝 Who Got the Contracts — Vendors, Deals, and Who Connected Them

Illinois schools spend billions every year on food, transportation, construction, legal services, insurance, and technology — all purchased from outside companies. The law requires competitive bidding on most of these contracts. In practice, many districts have the same vendors year after year, with no competitive process, often because the vendor has a relationship with someone on the board. We traced the connections.

VENDOR DOSSIER

Who Actually Owns These Companies Getting Paid Millions?

When a company wins a $10 million school contract, who owns it? Often it's a web of LLCs and holding companies designed to obscure the real beneficiaries. We did deep ownership research on 18 major Illinois school vendors, tracing their ownership structures through Secretary of State filings, UCC records, and corporate disclosures — and in several cases found direct connections to school board members, politicians, or organized crime-adjacent networks.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1 prohibits contracts with board member-connected companies. 5 ILCS 430/4A-101 requires annual economic interest disclosure. The problem: disclosure only works if someone checks. Nobody checks. Why it matters: LLC structures are the tool of choice for hiding self-dealing in public contracting. Following the ownership trail is how you find the fraud.

FOOD SERVICE

School Lunch — The Political Business Nobody Talks About

Your child's school lunch is served by one of a handful of giant companies — Aramark, Sodexo, Arbor Management — that dominate Illinois school food service contracts through political connections rather than competitive pricing. We analyzed Chicago Public Schools and 200+ downstate contracts, tracked the political donation history of major food service contractors, and found a recent private equity acquisition of a major Illinois vendor (Arbor/GenNx360) that may violate contract assignment clauses.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-20.21 (competitive bidding, $25K threshold). 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1 (no financial interest in contracts). When a private equity firm acquires a food service company mid-contract without board notification, the district may have grounds to terminate under standard contract assignment provisions. Why it matters: school food service is a multi-billion dollar market where the same companies win the same contracts year after year with no real competition — and the political donations explain why.

MONOPOLIES

The Same Vendor Winning Everywhere — How That Happens

In a truly competitive market, no single vendor should dominate a service category across dozens of school districts. But in Illinois, certain vendors — in construction, transportation, legal services, and technology — appear over and over across unrelated districts. We mapped these concentrations geographically and by service category, finding patterns that are statistically inconsistent with arm's-length competitive bidding.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-20.21 requires sealed competitive bidding for purchases above $25,000. Bid-rigging is a federal crime under 15 U.S.C. §1 (Sherman Antitrust Act). Why it matters: when one vendor dominates a region or category, it usually means either the bidding process is rigged, or the same people are making procurement decisions across multiple districts — both of which are corruption.

INSURANCE

$307 Million a Year in Insurance — With Almost No Competitive Bidding

Illinois schools spend over $307 million annually on insurance — property, liability, workers compensation, and employee health. Almost none of it goes through a competitive bidding process. Five risk pools and a handful of politically connected brokers control the market. We documented the Sandner monopoly, the $7.75 billion Marsh McLennan acquisition of the Horton Group (which serves hundreds of Illinois schools), and the board structure conflicts that allow self-dealing to persist.

The law: 105 ILCS 5/10-22.3 gives boards broad authority to purchase insurance but does not require competitive bidding. This is a specific statutory gap that politically connected brokers exploit. Why it matters: $307 million without competition is a $307 million opportunity for political patronage — and it comes directly out of your education tax dollars.

METHODOLOGY

How We Connect Vendors to Board Members — Our Full Methodology

Transparency in our methods: this page shows exactly how we link vendor payments to board member disclosures, campaign contributions, and business registrations. Every step of the cross-referencing process is documented, the data sources are named, and the limitations are acknowledged. If you want to replicate our analysis for your own district, start here.

Uses: ISBE AFR vendor payment data, Illinois Secretary of State business registry, ILCAMPAIGN donation records, county clerk SEI disclosures under 5 ILCS 430/4A-101, and PACER federal case records. All data is publicly available.

POLITICAL MONEY

Car Dealers and School Boards — The Surprising Connection

Illinois automobile dealers are among the most politically active businesses in the state — and that political activity extends to school districts, which purchase vehicle fleets and transportation services worth millions annually. We documented the Zeigler dealer network's escalating contribution pattern ($5K to $4.5M), the CATPAC industry PAC, and the specific school board votes on transportation contracts that followed major dealer contributions.

The law: 10 ILCS 5/9 (Campaign Finance Act). 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1 prohibits board members from having financial interests in district contracts. A dealer who contributes to a board member's campaign and then receives a fleet contract is in a legal gray area that this report explores. Why it matters: understanding where political money comes from helps you understand why certain vendor decisions get made.

Topic 5 of 10

🕸️ Political Networks — Who Controls Illinois School Governance

Illinois school boards don't operate in a vacuum. They exist inside a network of politicians, contractors, donors, and family relationships that has been built over decades. Understanding these networks is how you understand why certain contracts keep going to the same companies, why certain people keep getting appointed to boards, and why accountability is so rare. These reports map those networks in detail.

DYNASTIES

The Families Who Have Controlled Illinois Schools for Decades

In Illinois, the same family names appear on school boards, village councils, county offices, and state legislative seats — generation after generation. The Madigan network. The Hastings family. The Claar machine. The LaHood dynasty. This map traces the specific connections: who appointed whom, which companies got contracts after which family members joined the board, and how these networks have insulated themselves from accountability for 30+ years.

The law: 5 ILCS 430 (Ethics Act), 10 ILCS 5/9 (Campaign Finance), 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1 (contract interest prohibition). The legal violations embedded in dynasty networks often only surface during federal investigations — by which point the damage is decades deep. Why it matters: dynasties are the infrastructure of corruption. Breaking them requires understanding them first.

FEDERAL CASE

The Hastings Family — Federal Lawsuit, Three Family Members, 10 Counts

A federal civil rights lawsuit — O'Grady v. Hastings — names three members of the same family and the school district they controlled in the south suburbs. The lawsuit documents how they converted a school board position into a family employment agency: relatives hired into administrative jobs, contracts awarded to connected vendors, and employees who complained were retaliated against. All 10 counts are explained in plain English.

42 U.S.C. §1983 (Civil Rights Act — violation of constitutional rights under color of law), 42 U.S.C. §1985 (conspiracy to deprive civil rights). Federal civil rights cases against school officials are rare — this one establishes patterns that we've found in at least 8 other Illinois districts. Why it matters: this is what happens when nobody is watching for 20 years.

TRI-COUNTY

Cook, Will & DuPage — The Corruption Nexus Explained

The three counties around Chicago are where most of Illinois's school money flows — and where most of the documented corruption is. This report covers the Madigan conviction (7.5 years, convicted February 2025 after the longest Illinois political corruption trial in history), TIF diversion networks in Will County, FBI raids in DuPage, and the school board relationships that delivered contracts to politically connected vendors across all three counties.

18 U.S.C. §1341 (mail fraud), 18 U.S.C. §666 (federal program bribery — applies when schools receive federal funds), 18 U.S.C. §1962 (RICO). The Madigan prosecution used all three theories. Why it matters: the machine that ran Illinois state politics for 30 years had direct tentacles into school district procurement. This report documents those tentacles specifically.

SOUTHWEST SUBURBS

The Southwest Cook Machine — Same People, Multiple School Boards

The Morrison-Pekau-Glotz-Rita network operates across southwest Cook County school boards simultaneously — the same coordinated group of elected officials, school board members, and municipal leaders channeling contracts to shared vendors and blocking competitive bidding. This report documents the specific cross-appointments, the shared vendors, and the political donation patterns that tie the network together.

105 ILCS 5/10-22.1, 5 ILCS 430, 10 ILCS 5/9. Coordinated action across multiple public bodies to direct contracts to shared vendors could constitute conspiracy under 720 ILCS 5/8-2. Why it matters: this is how local corruption operates at scale — not through one bad actor, but through a coordinated network with no one holding any of them accountable.

BOLINGBROOK

34 Years, One Mayor, $5 Million — How a Local Machine Works

Roger Claar was mayor of Bolingbrook for 34 years. In that time he built a $5 million campaign fund, developed tollway contractor relationships worth hundreds of millions, and extended his political influence into three school districts bordering his city. This report documents exactly how a long-serving local official shapes school district decisions — vendor selection, bond underwriting choices, and board appointments — without ever formally controlling the boards.

5 ILCS 430 (Ethics Act — gifts and outside influence on government decisions), 10 ILCS 5/9 (campaign finance). Claar's campaign fund was one of the largest in Illinois municipal history. Why it matters: most school corruption in Illinois doesn't involve outright bribery — it involves informal influence by local political machines that nobody formally investigates because the relationships are technically legal.

COLLAR COUNTIES

Kane, Lake, McHenry, Kendall & Grundy — The Outer Ring Machine

The collar counties outside Chicago are often seen as "clean" compared to Cook — but they have their own dynasty networks, their own patronage systems, and their own no-bid contracting problems. This map documents multi-generational family connections in all five collar counties and shows where those connections translate into specific financial decisions by school districts.

Data from ISBE board member records, Secretary of State corporate filings, ILCAMPAIGN donation history, and county recorder economic interest disclosures. 5 ILCS 430/4A-101. Why it matters: just because your suburb isn't Chicago doesn't mean your school board is clean. These networks are smaller but equally effective at directing public money to private interests.

DUPAGE

The DuPage State's Attorney With a Financial Stake in School Legal Bills

Gary Grasso is DuPage County's top law enforcement officer — the person responsible for prosecuting corruption. He is also an attorney whose firm received $228,000 from a school district where a board member had made a $400 contribution to his campaign. Now a federal indictment (April 2026) names associates from his political network in a construction fraud scheme. This report asks: who is watching the watchmen?

US v. Rovito (N.D. Ill., Apr. 29 2026 — Operation Porterhouse Parlay), 18 U.S.C. §666 (federal program bribery), 720 ILCS 5/33-3 (official misconduct). Why it matters: the State's Attorney is supposed to be the person who prosecutes school board corruption in DuPage County. If that person has financial conflicts with local school boards, the entire accountability system breaks down.

GAMING

Video Game Machines, School Boards, and Political Money

Illinois has 45,000+ video gaming terminals in bars and restaurants — a $2 billion a year industry that generates enormous political money. Many of the same people who sit on school boards also sit on village councils that vote on video gaming licenses. This creates a situation where the same person is making decisions about school vendor contracts and gaming licenses — often for the same set of politically connected businesses.

230 ILCS 40 (Video Gaming Act), 5 ILCS 430 (Ethics Act), 10 ILCS 5/9 (Campaign Finance). The Heidner network — connected to gaming terminal operators — has documented overlaps with school board political campaigns. Why it matters: gaming money is some of the least-scrutinized political money in Illinois, and its intersection with school governance has never been systematically documented before.

CASINO

Rivers Casino, D&P Realty, Bally's Chicago — The Full Network

Neil Bluhm's Rivers Casino empire, the D&P Realty principals now building Bally's Chicago (under an IGB stop-work order), Wayne Huizenga's school connections, and Gov. Pritzker's conflict of interest. This report traces how casino and real estate money intersects with Illinois school governance — through political donations, bond underwriting relationships, and family investment networks connected to school board members.

230 ILCS 10 (Illinois Riverboat Gambling Act), 230 ILCS 45 (Sports Wagering Act), 10 ILCS 5/9 (Campaign Finance). Illinois Gaming Board enforcement actions are public record. Why it matters: casino licensing is one of the most politically driven processes in Illinois government. When casino principals have school board connections, it raises questions about how those connections influenced both the gaming decisions and the school decisions.

DARK MONEY

$300,000 in Hidden Money That Changed School Board Decisions

Dark money in school board elections isn't just a national phenomenon — it's happening in suburban Illinois. This report documents $300,000 in contributions routed through shell political committees to fund ballot initiatives that benefited specific school district vendors. We trace the money from the original source to the committee to the ballot campaign to the contract vote — a documented loop that is technically legal and substantively corrupt.

10 ILCS 5/9-8.6 (Illinois ballot initiative PAC rules), 10 ILCS 5/9-1.5 (contribution disclosure requirements). ILSBE investigation pending. Why it matters: if outside money can effectively purchase school board election outcomes, then the democratic accountability that is supposed to govern $30 billion in spending is a fiction.

OAK BROOK

Oak Brook — Old Money, McDonald's, and School District Influence

Oak Brook is one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois — home to the Butler family real estate empire, McDonald's Corporation headquarters, and a network of political and business relationships that extend into DuPage County school governance. This report documents how old money translates into school district influence: which boards have members connected to this network, what contracts flowed to connected vendors, and what the financial disclosure records show.

5 ILCS 430/4A-101 (SEI disclosures), 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1. Why it matters: wealth concentration creates governance concentration. Understanding who the influential players are in wealthy suburban communities is essential to understanding why their school board decisions look the way they do.

ORGANIZED CRIME

The Greylord-Era Family Still in Southwest Cook School Governance

Operation Greylord was a 1980s FBI investigation that exposed judicial corruption across Chicago's courthouse system. One family with documented Greylord-era connections has maintained a presence in Summit School District 104 and Lyons Township governance for decades since. This report documents those connections, the current family members in governance positions, and the contracting and employment decisions that have followed.

Based on PACER records from Operation Greylord (N.D. Ill., 1983–1993), Illinois Secretary of State records, ISBE board member registration data, and FOIA-obtained board minutes. 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1. Why it matters: organized crime's influence on local government doesn't disappear when federal investigations close — it adapts and persists through family networks and political relationships.

LAW FIRMS

One Law Firm, 50+ School District Clients — Is That Even Legal?

Robbins Schwartz Nicholas Lifton & Taylor serves as school board attorney for dozens of Illinois school districts simultaneously. When the same law firm represents multiple districts that share vendors, bond counsel, or collective bargaining opponents, conflicts of interest are unavoidable. Add political donations to board members across those districts and you have a structural arrangement that is designed to perpetuate itself regardless of merit.

Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.7 (conflict of interest), 105 ILCS 5/10-20.21 (competitive bidding — does it apply to attorney selection?). ILCAMPAIGN records showing firm partner donations to client district board members. Why it matters: when your school board's attorney has financial relationships with the board members who hired them, you have no independent legal counsel — just a paid ally of the people you might someday need to hold accountable.

Topic 6 of 10

🏫 Look Up Your School District — Full Audits

We've done full 12-section audits of specific Illinois school districts — digging into board composition, financial records, vendor payments, bond history, FOIA compliance, and governance red flags. If your district is listed, click it for the full picture. More districts are added regularly.

DISTRICT AUDITFULL AUDIT

CHSD 230 — Orland Park / Palos Hills High Schools

This is our primary FOIA litigation target. We found: 513,123 anomalous transportation miles reported to the state (statistically impossible for this district's size), $54 million in non-referendum bonds, an insurance no-bid award to a politically connected broker, and board meeting records gated behind a login wall — a direct OMA violation. The district has used attorney "voluminous request" notices to stall our FOIA requests.

5 ILCS 120/2.06 (minutes must be publicly accessible), 5 ILCS 140/3 (FOIA response obligations), 105 ILCS 5/29 (PTCRS transportation reporting), 30 ILCS 350 (non-referendum bonds). This district has checked every box on our red flag list.

DISTRICT AUDIT

Cahokia CUSD 187 — Confirmed Nepotism, State-Verified

Cahokia Community Unit School District 187 in Saint Clair County is one of the few Illinois districts where nepotism has been independently confirmed and reported by local media. The Harvey/Corley family employment network within the district's administrative staff is documented with specific positions, salary data, and board vote records. This is also a Tier 1 ESSA district — meaning academic performance is already critically low.

105 ILCS 5/10-22.1 (financial interest prohibition extends to family employment in some interpretations), 20 U.S.C. §6311 (ESSA Comprehensive Support — federal consequences for sustained low performance). Why it matters: nepotism in a failing school district means administrative positions go to family members while students suffer the consequences of leadership chosen by connection rather than competence.

DISTRICT AUDIT

Cairo USD 1 — Alexander County's Only District, Under 500 Students

Cairo is one of the smallest, poorest, and most isolated school districts in Illinois — serving a community that has been in economic decline since the 1970s. Our audit documents the concentrated family network controlling employment and procurement in a district with fewer than 500 students and a long history of state financial intervention. With this few people involved, the governance failures are both more obvious and more damaging.

105 ILCS 5/1H (ISBE Financial Oversight — state intervention authority), 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1. Why it matters: in a tiny district, one connected family can control everything: hiring, purchasing, and board decisions simultaneously. The children in Cairo deserve governance that serves them, not the people governing.

DISTRICT AUDIT

Brooklyn UD 188 — 3.7% Reading Proficiency, Still No Accountability

Brooklyn Unit District 188 has one of the lowest ELA proficiency rates in Illinois — 3.7%. Nearly every student in this district cannot read at grade level. This audit asks why: documenting the board composition, the financial oversight history, the state intervention records, and the political relationships that have insulated ineffective leadership from real accountability for decades.

20 U.S.C. §6311 (ESSA — federal Comprehensive Support and Improvement designation triggers required district intervention plans). 105 ILCS 5/1H (ISBE intervention authority). Why it matters: when a district fails at the most basic function of education — teaching children to read — and nobody is held accountable, that failure is a governance failure, not just a performance failure.

DISTRICT AUDIT

Meridian CUSD 101 — Under State Financial Watch

Meridian CUSD 101 in Pulaski County is one of only a handful of Illinois districts under active ISBE Financial Watch designation — meaning state auditors have determined the district's finances are at risk of crisis. This audit explains what triggered the watch designation, what the corrective action plan requires, and whether the underlying governance failures that created the financial crisis have actually been fixed.

105 ILCS 5/1H-1 (ISBE Financial Watch List — criteria and consequences), 105 ILCS 5/1H-5 (Financial Oversight Panel — state takeover authority). Why it matters: Financial Watch is the last warning before the state takes over. When a district reaches this point, local taxpayers and students are the ones who pay the price of years of governance failures.

DISTRICT AUDIT

Decatur SD 61 — Superintendent Living Out of State While Collecting Illinois Pay

Decatur School District 61's superintendent has an Idaho phone number and apparent out-of-state residency indicators — while collecting a six-figure Illinois public school salary that requires residency. This audit documents the residency flag, the board's response (or lack thereof), Decatur's financial anomalies (including a $3.3M FPS fund mismatch), and the Macon County political network context.

105 ILCS 5/10-23.8 (superintendent residency requirements), 105 ILCS 5/17-2.11 (FPS fund). A superintendent collecting a taxpayer salary while living in another state is both a breach of contract and a potential ethical violation. Why it matters: if a superintendent isn't present in the community they serve, who is actually running the district — and who benefits?

DISTRICT AUDIT

New Trier Township HSD 203 — $130M Borrowed Without Asking Voters

New Trier is one of the wealthiest and highest-performing school districts in Illinois. It is also one of the most aggressive users of non-referendum borrowing — $130 million in debt certificates and private placements structured specifically to avoid the voter approval requirement that applies to traditional bonds. This audit documents each issuance, the bond counsel used, and the underwriter fees paid.

30 ILCS 350/9 (alternate bonds — the referendum bypass mechanism), 105 ILCS 5/19-1 et seq. (school bond authority generally). Why it matters: even wealthy districts with strong academic performance can abuse the borrowing system. Non-referendum bonds are legal — but they bypass the democratic check that is supposed to govern how much taxpayers owe.

DISTRICT AUDIT

Hazel Crest SD 152-5 — Board Seat Empty Longer Than the Law Allows

When an Illinois school board seat becomes vacant, the remaining board members have 45 days to fill it by appointment. If they don't, the Regional Superintendent must step in and make the appointment. Hazel Crest SD 152-5 let a seat sit vacant past that deadline — violating the statute and leaving a Cook County elementary district short a board member for longer than the law permits.

105 ILCS 5/10-10 (45-day appointment requirement — if board fails to act, ROE superintendent makes the appointment). Why it matters: a 6-member board making 7-member decisions may be operating without proper authority. Depending on the votes taken during the vacancy period, those decisions could be challenged.

DISTRICT AUDITNEW

Cicero SD 99 — 17.8% Reading Rate, $25M Bond, Cicero Township Machine

Cicero School District 99 serves a community that is 60.7% English Learner — and only 17.8% of EL students can read at grade level. The district is pursuing a $25 million bond while academic outcomes remain at crisis levels. This audit documents the Cicero Township political machine's influence over school governance — Cicero has one of the longest-running local political corruption histories in Illinois.

20 U.S.C. §6311 (ESSA CSI designation), 20 U.S.C. §6812 (Title III — English Learner program requirements), 30 ILCS 350 (bond issuance). Spanish-language notice requirements for bond referenda under the Voting Rights Act also apply. Why it matters: Cicero's children are among the most educationally vulnerable in Illinois. Understanding why their governance is structured the way it is explains why outcomes remain so poor.

DISTRICT AUDIT

Chicago Public Schools — 330,000 Students, Mayoral Control, Full Audit Template

Chicago Public Schools is Illinois's largest district by far. CPS operates under mayoral control — the board is appointed by the mayor, not elected — which concentrates enormous power over $9 billion in annual spending in City Hall. This audit template covers what we can document from public records: board structure, bond history, the political relationships governing CPS vendor decisions, and the equity gaps in academic outcomes by neighborhood.

105 ILCS 5/34 (Chicago School Reform — the special statute governing CPS, distinct from the rest of Illinois). Mayoral board appointment authority. Why it matters: one-third of Illinois's K-12 students attend CPS. How CPS is governed — and who benefits — matters more than any other single district in the state.

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🗺️ County-by-County Reports — All 102 Illinois Counties

We've completed financial and governance analysis for all 102 Illinois counties and every school district within them. Find your county's batch below. Each report covers bond balances, financial anomaly flags, key district findings, and FOIA action items for the highest-priority investigation targets in that county.

COLLAR COUNTIES

DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will & McHenry — The Collar County Deep Dive

The five counties surrounding Cook are where Illinois's wealthiest school districts — and some of its most aggressive bond borrowers — operate. This comprehensive report covers every district in all five collar counties with bond balance analysis, vendor concentration mapping, and political network cross-references. These districts collectively control tens of billions in tax revenue and spending.

Data from EMMA (municipal bond database), ISBE AFR, ILCAMPAIGN. 30 ILCS 350 (bond law), 105 ILCS 5/10-22.1 (conflict of interest). High-wealth districts with sophisticated financial operations are where the most creative abuse of legal structures occurs.

COUNTIES 1–10

Downstate Batch 1 — Adams through Champaign

Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, and Champaign counties. $10.7B in bonds across 231 districts. Key flags: Rockford SD 205 FPS fund with no corresponding Life Safety bonds on EMMA; Alexander County governance concentration (Cairo, Egyptian CUSD); Champaign CUSD 4 partial audit with U of I tax exemption analysis.

105 ILCS 5/17-2.11 (Life Safety/FPS fund), 105 ILCS 5/1H (financial watch). Alexander County is Illinois's poorest county — its school governance failures are both the most severe and the most ignored.

COUNTIES 11–20

Downstate Batch 2 — Christian through Douglas

Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, DeWitt, and Douglas counties. Bond and financial analysis with anomaly flags, top districts by bond balance, and FOIA action items for highest-priority targets in each county.

ISBE AFR data, EMMA bond records, ILCAMPAIGN. Standard flag set: FPS mismatches, non-referendum debt, vendor concentration, board composition red flags.

COUNTIES 21–30

Downstate Batch 3 — Edgar through Grundy

Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, and Grundy counties. Bond analysis with district governance flags and cross-reference to downstate political networks in less-scrutinized counties south of I-80.

Franklin County coal-era governance patterns. Grundy County — Will County border political overlap analysis.

COUNTIES 31–40

Downstate Batch 4 — Hamilton through Jersey

Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, and Jersey counties. Southern Illinois coalfield and river counties with distinct governance patterns, constrained tax bases, and long-standing family political networks controlling school board appointments across multiple generations.

Jackson County — Southern Illinois University tax-exempt property analysis. Jefferson County — coal legacy bond debt patterns.

COUNTIES 41–50

Downstate Batch 5 — Jo Daviess through Lee

Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lawrence, and Lee counties. Includes Kane County's major districts (U-46 Elgin — Illinois's second largest district, East Aurora, West Aurora) and Lake County wealth concentration analysis. Kankakee SD 111 is a priority investigation target.

Kankakee SD 111 — federal Title I monitoring flags, vendor payment anomalies. U-46 Elgin — largest downstate bond issuer analysis.

COUNTIES 51–60

Downstate Batch 6 — Livingston through McDonough

Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Massac, and McDonough counties. Decatur SD 61 (Macon) deep-dive cross-reference and Madison County's industrial corridor bond analysis — one of Illinois's most bond-active downstate regions.

Madison County — East St. Louis metro area industrial TIF analysis. Macon — Decatur SD 61 superintendent residency flag cross-reference.

COUNTIES 61–70

Downstate Batch 7 — McHenry through Peoria

McHenry, McLean, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, and Peoria counties. $1.1B in bonds. McLean County Unit 5 (Normal/Bloomington) high-spend anchor district. Peoria SD 150 Ross surname flag — nepotism investigation. Mercer County SD 404 YouTube board meeting strategy documented.

Peoria SD 150 — active FOIA investigation for board meeting minutes. McLean County — State Farm Insurance and ISU tax exemption impact analysis.

COUNTIES 71–80

Downstate Batch 8 — Perry through Saline

Perry, Piatt, Pike, Pope, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Richland, Rock Island, and Saline counties. Meridian CUSD 101 (Pulaski) Financial Watch context. Rock Island Quad Cities district analysis — cross-border Iowa comparisons on governance and spending efficiency.

Pulaski County — Illinois's second-smallest county. Meridian Financial Watch: 105 ILCS 5/1H-1. Randolph County — Chester nuclear plant TIF risk analysis.

COUNTIES 81–90

Downstate Batch 9 — Sangamon through Vermilion

Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, St. Clair, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Union, and Vermilion counties. Springfield SD 186 (state capital district), East St. Louis SD 189 Financial Oversight Authority analysis, Cahokia CUSD 187 nepotism cross-reference, and Danville CCSD 118 — a priority investigation target.

East St. Louis SD 189: 105 ILCS 5/1H-5 (Financial Oversight Panel — state-imposed management). Sangamon County: state agency employment overlap with school board membership analysis.

COUNTIES 91–102

Downstate Batch 10 — Wabash through Woodford, Completing All 102 Counties

$24B+ in bonds completing all 102 Illinois counties: Wabash, Warren, Washington, Wayne, White, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, Winnebago, Woodford, and Cook County suburban districts. Rockford SD 205 (Winnebago) — Illinois's third-largest district — third-party contract analysis. This batch completes the full 102-county coverage.

Wabash CUSD 348 — the only district in our entire 102-county audit with a fully compliant website (all OMA postings current). Will County nuclear plant TIF risk — Dresden and Braidwood generating stations. Winnebago County — Rockford bond debt load analysis.

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📄 Get the Records Yourself — FOIA Tools & Legal Resources

Every record we've analyzed is a public record that you have a legal right to request. Illinois's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives every citizen the right to demand documents from any public body — including school districts. These tools make it easy: ready-to-send letters, tracking systems, and guides to what to do when districts refuse to comply.

FOIA TEMPLATESUSE NOW

Ready-to-Send FOIA Letters for Every Type of School Record

You don't need a lawyer to file a FOIA request. You just need the right letter. This center has ready-to-send templates for every category of school records: board minutes, vendor contracts, administrator salaries, bond documents, insurance contracts, transportation records, oath of office filings, and Statement of Economic Interest disclosures. Copy, fill in your district's name, and send.

The law: 5 ILCS 140 (Illinois Freedom of Information Act). Schools must respond within 5 business days (or 10 with an extension). They can only deny requests under specific listed exemptions. If denied, you can appeal to the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor at no cost. Why it matters: every investigation on this site started with a FOIA request. These are the same tools we use — now available for you to use on your own district.

FOIA TRACKING

Which Districts Are Stonewalling FOIA Requests?

We track every FOIA request we've submitted, every response received, every denial logged, and every appeal filed. This master audit shows which districts have exceeded their legal response window, which have issued improper denials, and which are using the "voluminous request" tactic to stall. If you're fighting a school district over records, check here first.

5 ILCS 140/3 (5-day response requirement), 5 ILCS 140/3.5 (extension to 10 days), 5 ILCS 140/9.5 (Public Access Counselor appeal). Improper denials can result in attorney fee awards against the district — meaning taxpayers pay for the illegal stonewalling. Why it matters: knowing which districts fight transparency tells you exactly where to look for what they're hiding.

LEGAL ANALYSIS

The Legal Case: OMA and FOIA Violations Documented

This is the legal analysis layer of our investigation — not just "what we found" but "what law it violates and what the legal remedy is." Covers Open Meetings Act violations (improper closed sessions, late minute posting, agenda failures), FOIA violations (improper denials, inadequate responses), and board authority questions (unsworn members, incomplete boards). Each finding cites specific case law and PAC opinions.

5 ILCS 120 (OMA), 5 ILCS 140 (FOIA). Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor opinions (binding on public bodies) are cited throughout. Why it matters: knowing what remedies exist is how you translate a finding into accountability. This is the bridge between "they broke the law" and "here's what can be done about it."

SCORING

Every District's FOIA Compliance Score

We scored every Illinois school district on FOIA compliance — response times, denial rates, improper exemption claims, and patterns of obstruction. Version 2 of the tracker adds email tracking for FOIA officer contact information and response pattern analysis across multiple request cycles. Find your district, check its score, and see exactly where it's failing.

5 ILCS 140 (FOIA). Districts with systematic FOIA compliance failures face PAC complaints and potential attorney fee liability. A pattern of improper denials can also be referred to the State's Attorney for criminal prosecution under 5 ILCS 140/11. Why it matters: FOIA compliance scores are a proxy for overall governance transparency — districts that fight records requests are usually hiding something that the records would reveal.

MINUTES

Which Districts Are Posting Their Meeting Minutes? (Many Aren't)

Under the Open Meetings Act, school boards must post approved meeting minutes on their website within 10 days of approval. This tracker shows which districts are doing it, which are late, and which have never posted at all. If your district isn't on the compliant list, you're legally entitled to demand the minutes — and this tracker gives you the FOIA template to do it.

5 ILCS 120/2.06 (minutes must be posted within 10 days of approval). This is one of the most commonly violated OMA provisions in Illinois and one of the most important — minutes are the public record of what your board decided and why. Why it matters: if you can't read your board's minutes, you can't know what they're deciding on your behalf with your money.

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🗺️ See It on a Map — Interactive Data Visualization

Numbers become real when you see them geographically. These maps let you click on any Illinois county or school district and see its financial data, investigation flags, and academic performance — all in one place.

MASTER MAPLIVE

Illinois School District Master Map — All 864 Districts, Click Any One

The primary geographic navigation tool for the site. Click any Illinois school district to see its proficiency data, bond balance, investigation flags, and link to the district audit page if one exists. Filter by county, district type, proficiency level, or investigation status. This map is the fastest way to see how your district compares to its neighbors.

Data: ISBE Report Card (proficiency), EMMA (bonds), ISBE AFR (financial). All public data. Updated with new findings as they're documented. Why it matters: geographic patterns often reveal systemic issues that aren't visible district-by-district — the map makes those patterns visible at a glance.

FULL DATA MAP

Multi-Layer Investigation Map — Vendors, Bonds, Politics, TIFs

Extended version with additional data layers: vendor concentration heat maps showing where the same companies dominate multiple districts, bond issuance density by region, political donation flow lines connecting contractors to board members, and TIF district overlays showing where school tax revenue is being diverted. Designed for investigative analysis of geographic patterns.

Combines data from ISBE AFR, EMMA, ILCAMPAIGN, and Illinois Department of Commerce TIF reports. 65 ILCS 5/11-74.4 (TIF) — the geographic overlay makes it immediately clear which school districts are losing the most tax base to TIF expansion.

8 MAPS

8 Statewide Investigation Maps — Cannabis, Liquor, Insurance, Construction, TIF & Nuclear

Eight specialized political money maps covering every major corruption network in Illinois school governance: (1) Cannabis license → donation map, (2) Liquor license → political patronage, (3) Insurance broker no-bid statewide network, (4) Complete construction dynasty map, (5) Aurora TIF/Irvin era, (6) U-46 TIF impact, (7) Waukegan SD60 TIF impact, and (8) Nuclear plant TIF adjacency map. Each map includes specific FOIA action items.

Data from IDFPR license records, ILSBE Illinois Sunshine, IDOT debarment list, county TIF records, and ISBE AFR. 35 ILCS 200 (Property Tax Code — TIF), 410 ILCS 130 (Cannabis Regulation), 235 ILCS 5 (Liquor Control Act). Why it matters: political money doesn't respect district boundaries — these maps show the statewide networks that individual district audits can't capture.

DYNASTY MAP

Political Dynasty Map — Where the Same Families Keep Showing Up

A geographic display of political dynasty networks across Illinois — showing where the same family names appear in school governance, municipal government, and contract relationships. Helps you see whether your region has a dominant political family network and what specific school district decisions that network has influenced.

Based on ISBE board registration data, Secretary of State corporate filings, ILCAMPAIGN contribution records, and Illinois State Board of Elections historical data going back to 1990. 5 ILCS 430.

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📊 Are Illinois Schools Actually Working? — Performance & Accountability Data

The ultimate question: are the kids learning? Illinois publishes detailed academic performance data for every district. We've organized it, cross-referenced it with governance data, and found a disturbing pattern: the districts with the worst academic outcomes are often the same ones with the worst governance. Here's the evidence.

ACADEMIC DATA

Where Illinois Kids Are — And Aren't — Learning to Read and Do Math

Statewide analysis cross-referencing ISBE Report Card proficiency data with governance findings. You'll see which districts have the largest gaps between demographic groups, which are under federal "Comprehensive Support" designation (meaning the federal government has determined they've failed enough students for long enough to require intervention), and — critically — which low-performing districts also have the worst governance records.

20 U.S.C. §6311 (Every Student Succeeds Act — ESSA). Illinois must identify the lowest-performing 5% of schools and require improvement plans. Why it matters: academic failure is not random. When you map it against governance failure, a clear pattern emerges — and that pattern points to specific accountability failures that could be corrected.

DASHBOARD

2026 Illinois Education Dashboard — Every District's Numbers

Real-time education data dashboard aggregating ISBE Report Card, Annual Financial Report, and PTCRS transportation data into a unified view. For every district: proficiency rates by subject and student group, graduation rates, per-pupil spending, administrator-to-teacher ratios, and fiscal health scores. Find your district and see how your spending compares to your outcomes.

Data directly from ISBE public reporting systems. All numbers are the official state-reported figures — we haven't modified them, only organized and cross-referenced them. Why it matters: per-pupil spending in Illinois varies from under $10,000 to over $30,000 — knowing where your district falls and what outcomes it's producing is the foundation of any accountability conversation.

OVERSIGHT GRADES

Who's Watching the Schools? — Grading Illinois's 35 Regional Supervisors

Illinois's 35 Regional Offices of Education are supposed to monitor school boards and intervene when governance fails. We graded each one: how many districts under their watch are on Financial Watch, how many have active ESSA intervention requirements, how many have unresolved OMA complaints. Some ROEs are active and engaged — others appear to have done almost nothing despite documented problems in their region.

105 ILCS 5/3A (ROE authority and duties), 105 ILCS 5/2-3.25g (ISBE monitoring requirements). ROE superintendents are elected — their accountability runs to voters in their region, not to any state agency. Why it matters: if the regional supervisor isn't doing their job, there is no automatic backup. Understanding which ROEs are failing is step one to demanding they do better.