Chicago School Board Hopeful Victor Henderson Faced 2011 Abuse Allegations, Records Show

Court records from a 2011 divorce case show that Victor Henderson, a candidate for Chicago Board of Education president, agreed to stop using corporal punishment on his two minor sons after his then-wife alleged violent and abusive incidents involving the boys. Henderson, a prominent Chicago attorney running in the November 3 election, says the allegations were never the subject of criminal charges, arrests, or court findings establishing them as fact.

The filings, first reported by NBC 5 Chicago, show that on January 11, 2011, Henderson agreed that, effective immediately, he would not use corporal punishment or take punitive action involving physical contact with his minor children. His former wife alleged in a court filing that he had physically abused their sons. Three years after the divorce, she returned to court seeking to change the parenting schedule, according to the outlet’s review of the records.

Henderson, in comments to the station, said the records reflect allegations made during what he called an emotionally difficult chapter in his family’s life. He said there were no criminal charges, arrests, or court findings establishing the allegations as fact, and said his family worked to heal, move forward, and rebuild their lives together. Henderson’s ex-wife did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment.

Henderson Says He Won’t Let It Derail His Campaign

Henderson told the station he refuses to let old family matters distract from issues facing Chicago Public Schools, and said the allegations do not disqualify him from leading the school board. He also said negative campaign tactics will not discourage him from continuing his campaign. Henderson has not previously run for public office, and is the only Black candidate in the five-way race for board president, according to the research dossier’s background on the field.

The disclosure lands in the middle of a historic transition for Chicago Public Schools. This November, voters will choose their full school board and its president by direct election for the first time in three decades, ending 31 years of mayoral appointment control that began in 1995, as Hoodline has previously reported. Chicagoans will head to the polls in November to elect the board for the first time in 30 years.

A Crowded, High-Stakes Race for the District's Top Elected Post

Board president is the only seat chosen by a citywide vote of all Chicago residents this cycle, according to WTTW News, which reported that Henderson is running against Chicago Teachers Union-backed candidate Hilario Dominguez, incumbent board members Jessica Biggs and Jennifer Custer, and former board vice president Sendhil Revuluri. The winner will help oversee a district that, per Ndigo, is the nation’s fourth-largest, educating more than 316,000 students across 423 elementary schools, 91 high schools, and 108 charter schools spanning Chicago’s 77 community areas.

Henderson has built his campaign around a resume that predates his run for office. He previously served as president of the 22,000-member Chicago Bar Association and as executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Chicago office before founding his own firm, Henderson Parks, according to the firm’s own biography. He also served on the Board of Directors of Urban Prep Academies and publicly represented a coalition of Black business leaders in 2023 opposing Chicago Public Schools’ effort to revoke the charter network’s operating agreements, as Citizen Weekly reported at the time.

Henderson's Money Reshaped the Race's Finances

Henderson’s campaign has already altered the financial rules of the race in a separate way. His decision to loan $500,000 of his own money to his campaign crossed the state’s self-funding threshold under Illinois campaign finance law, a move that automatically lifted contribution limits for every candidate running for board president, Chalkbeat reported. That came after the sitting Chicago Board of Education voted 16-1 in July to bar all school board candidates from accepting campaign contributions from active or prospective CPS vendors and outside legal counsel, a restriction Hoodline covered at the time.

Henderson has also staked out positions that separate him from his rivals on policy. He publicly refused to sign the Human-Centered Education Pledge, which called for a three-year moratorium on generative AI tools in CPS classrooms, arguing instead that the district should manage AI transparently rather than through a blanket ban. He also joined three other board president candidates in opposing the sitting board’s budget resolution seeking an additional $150 million from the state for fiscal year 2027, a plan that CTU-endorsed candidate Hilario Dominguez supported, according to Count Five.

Candidates Set to Face Off on Live Television

Voters will get their first chance to see all five contenders together on September 15, when WTTW News hosts the first live televised candidate forum for the race, moderated by Chicago Tonight anchor Brandis Friedman. The forum is expected to give Henderson and his rivals a public venue to address district policy questions directly, following weeks of dueling positions on funding, technology, and now, Henderson’s past family court records.