Last month we shared with you “Ding’s D220 Deception,” highlighting the several D220 Board of Education (BOE) policies that current school board member, Erin Chan Ding, is violating in her run in the Democratic primary in the 52nd House District.
In announcing her candidacy for State Rep for the 52nd District, Ding has violated her oath of office as a nonpartisan member of the D220 Board of Education. With each campaign post, speech, appearance, and political handshake for her bid for the 52nd, she is in direct violation of the very school board code of conduct she has pledged multiple times to uphold:
2:80-E Exhibit – Board Member Code of Conduct
Each member of the Community Unit School District 220 Board of Education ascribes to the following code of conduct:
- I will represent all school district constituents honestly and equally and refuse to surrender my responsibilities to special interest or partisan political groups.
- I will avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety which could result from my position, and shall not use my Board of Education membership for personal gain or publicity.
Since announcing her candidacy, Ding has doubled down on her D220 deception, attending several events in her capacity as a Democrat candidate for State Rep, including Democratic House Majority Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s “Equality & Pride 365” celebration in Chicago on June 24.
Ding is endorsed by, and hobnobbing with, progressive Democrat darling. Theresa Mah. Both have used Ding’s Board of Education position as publicity in support of her run for the 52nd District.
It is apparent from her Erin for Illinois webpage that Ding is widely publicizing her Board of Education position, the achievements of the D220 Board of Education, whether hers or not, to support her run for the 52nd. Indeed, she is widely publicizing her decidedly Democratic talking point of having voted 3 times as a D220 BOE member to “keep educator-approved LGBTQ+ authored books on high school library’s shelves.”
Are we to believe that Ding didn’t talk about her votes while waiving her rainbow fan with her friends at Speaker Welch’s “Equality & Pride 365” celebration? Given the fact that the vast majority of her listed qualifications to run for State Rep center around her work as a Board of Ed member, it would be impossible for Ding to promote herself as a candidate without mentioning her service on the BOE.
Are we also to believe that in seeking political favors and endorsements from various democrats, such as Welch and Mah, throughout the State she is not beholden to follow the Democratic party line when voting as a BOE member? This is the very definition of surrendering her responsibilities to special interest and partisan political groups.
One also wonders if the “educators” who “approved” the LGBTQ+ books Ding voted in favor of include the D220 educators who have publicly endorsed Ding on her political web and social pages? That certainly raises the question of impropriety. Ding knows what a conflict of interest is. She’s just apparently arbitrary in her self-enforcement of them.
The question you may have is, with the partisan history of this decidedly Democrat leaning Board of Education, what can be done? We suggest you start by emailing the Board of Education members and Superintendent Winkelman asking them how they plan to address Ding’s violation of her School Board oath of office. Will they hold Ding, and themselves, to the very polices they all voted to adopt? Will they at least attempt to give the appearance of nonpartisanship and represent the entire community, not just the faction that leans the same way they do?
We know from past issues like ignored survey responses, COVID school closures, student masking & sexually explicit books in D220 libraries, an email may feel like a fruitless waste of your time. That is why we also suggest copying the Regional Office of Education, the entity responsible for ensuring Illinois School Boards follow policy, and ask they hold the D220 Board of Education accountable to the standards set for all Boards of Education throughout Illinois.
D220 Superintendent: cwinkelman@barrington220.org
D220 Board of Education: stwang@barrington220.org, dclopton@barrington220.org, baltshuler@barrington220.org, sbradford@barrington220.org, lcollisterlazzari@barrington220.org, echanding@barrington220.org, hsrivastava@barrington220.org
Regional Office of Education: ROEISC@isbe.net
Dr. Michael Karner Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools: Mkarner@lake.k12.il.us
The reality is Ding has every right to run as a Democrat for State Rep, but she does not have the right to use her current position on the Board of Education for personal gain or publicity in her capacity as a candidate. If Ding chooses to continue her run for State Rep she has no choice but to step down from her position on the BOE.
This is not the time for complacency. The next meeting of the D220 Board of Education is July 15th. Send the email, make your voice heard, speak up during public comment, share this information with friends and neighbors, and hold the D220 Board of Education accountable to the policies they set. Make it clear to the D220 Board of Ed that you consider the BOE a vital elected position that impacts your children and your tax dollars; a position you believe should be more than just a stepping stone for their present and future political ambitions.
Related: “Ding’s D220 Deception,” “Chan Ding running in Democratic primary in 52nd,” “Three (3) Democratic candidates queued to run for the IL 52nd District House seat in 2026”
This is wrong on every level. How is the electorate supposed to trust Ding to do the right thing for the students, parents and taxpayers of D220, unburdened by her now commitments to the Democratic Party?
Of course, Erin Chan Ding boasts about pushing Equity, her and her progressive cohorts on the D220 Board of Ed are removing merit based education in Barrington and replacing it with “culturally responsive” identity based teaching. Kids are taught to depend on the government instead of learning that hardwork, creativity and ingenuity are the cornerstone of the American dream and what makes our country so special and unique.
“I will avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety…”
People choose their political affiliations that are a reflection of themselves. Anyone who didn’t know this rational, happy, healthy, supportive of all personality was a Dem, had their head up their ass. Another board member manages a Republican PAC, and no one is complaining about Steve Wang’s pollical bend.
The PAC Wang was involved in did not file as a Republican Party. If you’re going to post in support of the Democratic Candidate Erin Chan Ding, at least get your facts right.
As an aside, your comment is asinine and has nothing to do with Ding violating school board policy by USING her platform as a school board member to advertise & promote her PARTISAN run as a Democrat for 52nd.