Axios Chicago

June 02, 2026
🦕 Happy Tuesday! On this day in 1894, the Field Museum opened to the public in what is now the Museum of Science and Industry.
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Today's newsletter is 1,074 words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: School board elections 101
Chicago's first full school board election hits new milestones this week as officials accept final candidate objections today and decide ballot placement tomorrow morning.
Why it matters: Featuring 10 districts, 21 seats and staggered terms depending on the type of incumbent holding the current seat, this complex election will shape the district for years to come.
How it works: Chicagoans will be asked to vote for two candidates — one for school board president and one for their particular subdistrict.
- The city is divided into 20 subdistricts (identified by a number and letter) where the candidate must live. You can find yours here.
- Most of the 21 races have at least two candidates running, but two North Side subdistricts feature candidates running unopposed.
- So far, five people have thrown their hats in the ring for board president: Jessica Biggs, Jennifer Custer, Hilario Dominguez, Victor P. Henderson and Sendhil Revuluri.
Follow the money: Board members get no pay for their service, but spending on the 2024 partial school board races exceeded $13 million. Spending on this wider contest is expected to exceed that, Chalkbeat reports.
- Much of the money came from the Chicago Teachers Union or super PACs funding candidates supportive of charters or school choice.
Friction point: Despite heavy CTU spending on the 2024 election, union president Stacy Davis Gates has warned businessman and Democratic donor Michael Sacks to stay out of this year's race — comparing "billionaire" campaign funds to Jim Crow voting laws, Politico reported.
- In return, Sacks accused Davis Gates of defamation and hypocrisy, writing, "no one in this city is focused more on spending big money on politics … than you do."
2. A new way to get your dream home
Picture this: You find the perfect house with a great yard and a welcoming front porch in an ideal neighborhood. But it's not for sale.
The website Unlisted gives you a shot at that house.
Why it matters: Unlisted allows homeowners to gauge interest in their home even before they're ready to sell, and buyers can potentially get ahead of their competition by making their interest known.
How it works: The site features every property listed in the public record. Visitors can search for a house by address and place their name on a waitlist to be considered when the home hits the market.
Flashback: A few years ago, when COVID-19 made everyone restless, a neighbor's home with a pool piqued Katie Hill's interest. Hill then asked if and when the owner was thinking of selling the home.
- "His face just lit up, and he shared with me that he was starting to think about retirement ... his wife wanted to move to South Carolina to retire closer to her sister, and that they were planning on putting the house on the market in the somewhat near future," Hill tells Axios.
- That interaction inspired Hill — a native of Zion, Illinois, who now lives outside Dayton, Ohio — to found Unlisted last year.
Reality check: These are not private listings.
- "The biggest challenge we have with agents, honestly, is just the name," Hill says. "Unlisted doesn't mean it's for sale, and unlisted. It means it's not listed. What I came to understand in the industry is that real estate agents really think that I'm trying to do something private that doesn't involve them."
3. Tips and Hot Links: Trump on Obama Ave.
🏙️ An online petition proposes renaming Wabash Avenue north of the River "Barack Hussein Obama Avenue," which would change the address of Trump Tower to 401 Barack Hussein Obama Ave. (Block Club)
🏠 Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to create a citywide rental registry and force landlords to disclose hidden fees. (WBEZ)
✏️ Lincoln Park High School will no longer teach Arabic, which school leadership attributes to low enrollment and budget constraints. (Tribune)
🥇 Smyth was named the No. 1 restaurant in North America by 50 Best, the only Chicago restaurant to make the list. (WGN)
4. Mag Mile hosts giant swimmer sculptures
This spring, Michigan Avenue will be swimming in playful, large-scale sculptures.
The big picture: "Monuments of Stillness" presents 11 works by Carole Feuerman on the Mag Mile, stretching from the Wrigley Building to Oak Street.

Zoom in: Feuerman is best known for super-realistic sculptures of swimmers, a concept she developed at a turning point in her career and her life.
- In the late 1970s and early '80s, Feuerman's marriage was falling apart at the same time galleries were rejecting her drawings of women's bodies, calling them too explicit.
- One day, as her kids swam in the water, she was sitting on the beach frustrated when her eyes locked on a woman emerging from the water.
- "She's wearing a red bathing suit, like a tank bathing suit, and she had her hair slicked back and water dripping down her face, and I said, 'Oh my god, that's it, I'm going to make a swimmer that looks like this lady,'" Feuerman tells Axios.
If you go: An official unveiling of "Moments of Stillness" takes place at 10am today at the Wrigley Building plaza, followed by a guided Big Bus tour of the installation led by Feuerman.
5. Round two: Best Ferris scene
Our first round results are in for our weeklong quest to crown the best scene from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
- The classic film turns 40 next week.
Biggest win: The Art Institute montage crushed the Sears Tower scene (84%-16%).
Closest win: The car crash squeaked by Ferris' sick monologue (55%-45%).
Most surprising win: The iconic "Bueller, Bueller" teacher scene blew away the bus scene in the ending credits (81%-19%). No love for the pocket gummy bear?
State of play: With only eight scenes left, the voting gets much harder.


Vote here. We'll keep the polls open until 5pm.
Edited by Tyler Buchanan.
🥹 Carrie definitely cried during the series finale of "Hacks." Jimmy and Kayla forever!
💻 Monica loves using this fabulous search engine that gives you AI-free results and takes you back to 2024. Remember those days?
🥎 Justin lost last night, but it was awesome to reunite with all of his summer softball friends!
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