Grammy-winning rapper-turned-politician Che “Rhymefest” Smith is the only name voters will see on the ballot for Chicago's District 10a school board seat, but that doesn't mean he's running unopposed. Nonprofit leader and CPS parent Tameka Walton is mounting a write-in campaign backed by the Chicago Teachers Union after election officials knocked her off the printed ballot earlier this year.
How Walton Ended Up Off the Ballot
Smith, who serves on the board after winning a seat two years ago as a self-described independent, “will be the lone name on the ballot to represent District 10a,” according to WBEZ. Walton's absence from the printed ballot traces back to a ruling from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, which found that some of her petition signatures were ineligible. Per Chalkbeat Chicago, that left her below the required 500 signatures, and the board struck her from contention in July.
Walton wasn't alone in that predicament. The same report notes that five other candidates fell below the signature threshold and were also dropped from the ballot, out of 51 people who filed petitions for the 21 school board seats up for election this cycle — 28 of whom faced objections in the first place. Despite losing her spot on the printed ballot, Walton has pressed ahead as a write-in candidate, and the CTU has thrown its support behind her bid, including donations from the CTU PAC and the CTU-affiliated Our Schools PAC, the station's report indicates.
A Union Fight Playing Out in District 10a
Smith, meanwhile, has leaned into friction with the union rather than away from it. He has consistently voted against items pushed by the Chicago Teachers Union during his current term and has drawn endorsements and donations from groups that oppose the union, according to the same account. Still, Smith has said he would welcome the CTU's support and counsel — a notably conciliatory posture given his voting record, as described in the report. He has raised more than $100,000 in campaign donations this cycle.
The union's involvement in District 10a fits a broader pattern this election cycle. The Chicago Teachers Union announced in July that it would endorse just 15 candidates across all 21 school board seats on the ballot, per Chalkbeat Chicago. Union-aligned spending has been substantial elsewhere on the ballot too: the CTU PAC and its affiliates had donated more than $600,000 to one candidate, Hilario Dominguez, as of an Oct. 15 campaign finance filing, with over $406,000 more reported a week later, according to The TRiiBE. In a separate race, candidate Jessica Biggs received $400,000 from investor Michael Sacks this year and another $300,000 by an Oct. 20 filing, the outlet reported.
Walton's Pitch as a Parent and Nonprofit Founder
Walton has framed her campaign around her own experience navigating Chicago Public Schools as a parent. She has said she had to advocate to get her children into CPS schools where they could thrive, and has argued that schools should be safe and welcoming for both students and parents, per the WBEZ account. She is the founder and executive director of a nonprofit that works in schools with children who have experienced trauma.
The contrast between the two candidates echoes Smith's first run for the board two years ago. In that 2024 race, as reported by WBEZ, independent candidate Smith held a slight lead over Karin Norington-Reaves, who had raised more than $500,000 while Smith loaned his campaign nearly $100,000 and raised another $30,000. That same race featured Robert Jones, described then as the CTU candidate, who had roughly $321,000 contributed to his campaign, mostly from the union and its affiliates.
A District Facing Enrollment Pressure
District 10a stretches across South Side neighborhoods from Bronzeville to South Shore, encompassing South Shore, Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park, Kenwood, South Chicago, Douglas and Oakland. It covers 33 schools, including Kenwood Academy High School and Murray Language Academy Elementary School, and more than 88% of its students are Black, with nearly 7% identifying as Hispanic, per the WBEZ report.
Several neighborhood schools in the district are considered low-performing and have lost enrollment in recent years, the outlet notes — a strain that mirrors district-wide trends. An early headcount for the 2026-27 school year showed Chicago Public Schools serving nearly 305,000 students, a drop of more than 11,000 from prior counts, according to The TRiiBE. Whoever ultimately represents District 10a will take on those enrollment and performance challenges as part of the job, regardless of whether their name appeared on the printed ballot.
