Voters brought action against city, state, and state Board of Education, alleging that state law giving mayor authority to appoint members of city board of education violated Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause.
The United States District Court dismissed complaint, and voters appealed
The Court of Appeals held that:
- Voting Rights Act did not require that positions on city board of education be filled by election rather than appointment, and
- Statute giving mayor authority to appoint board members did not violate Equal Protection Clause.
Illinois statute giving mayor authority to appoint members of city board of education did not violate Equal Protection Clause, even though statute applied only to one city, and black and Latino voters were more likely to live in that city than in other cities in state, where all citizens in city had equal influence in selecting mayor.