We are providing this update to ensure transparency and to clearly document the ongoing pattern of conduct that has led to this petition. Better Barrington was recently provided records from a FOIA request that demonstrate Chan Ding’s complete lack of ethics and a simple review of her political campaign site and social pages for her run for the Democratic primary for the State Representative of the 52nd District evidences her continued flagrant violation of D220 Board of Education (BOE) policies:

• September 29, 2025: Chan Ding was advised that multiple posts on her political campaign website and social media accounts violated BOE norms and communication expectations. She acknowledged the issue and promised to revise and remove the violative content.
• November 18, 2025: The BOE determined that the member was in flagrant violation of school board policy. Despite the violation being ethical in nature, Chan Ding voted against her own sanction. During the same public meeting, she stated that her political website and social media pages had been “cleaned up.”
• November 19, 2025: BOE President Ficke Bradford notified Chan Ding that the District had received screenshots confirming the violative content had not been removed, contradicting her public statement. That same day, Chan Ding requested permission to use the District’s “tech department” to assist with cleaning up her political campaign sites.
• November 20, 2025: The BOE President Ficke Bradford denied this request, stating: “You may not utilize District resources for your state representative campaign. This would be another violation of board policy.”
• As a result of the flagrant policy violations, the Board voted to require the member to undergo remedial training. This training was paid for by taxpayers.
• December 3, 2025: The remedial training took place and was conducted with the Chan Ding and BOE attorneys.

This sequence of events reflects more than a single lapse in judgment. It demonstrates a pattern of policy violations, misrepresentation to the public, improper requests involving District resources, and the expenditure of taxpayer funds to address conduct that should not have occurred in the first place.

Despite having undergone taxpayer-funded remedial training on December 3, 2025, a subsequent review of Chan Ding’s political campaign website and social media pages shows that she remains in violation of BOE policy.

Specifically, her online content continues to conflict with policies that require board members to:

• Refuse to surrender Board of Education responsibilities to special-interest or partisan political groups, and
• Avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety, including using Board of Education membership for personal gain, political advancement, or publicity.

The purpose of remedial training is corrective action—to ensure understanding of ethical obligations and prevent future violations. The fact that these violations persist after formal findings, public warnings, and remedial instruction demonstrates a troubling unwillingness or inability to comply with the standards required of a school board member.

This ongoing conduct further erodes public trust and reinforces the concern that the board member is placing personal political interests above her sworn duty to students, taxpayers, and the school district.

At this point, continued noncompliance cannot reasonably be dismissed as misunderstanding or oversight. It represents a pattern of disregard for BOE policy and ethical governance, underscoring why this petition calls for removal.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support accountability, transparency, and ethical leadership in our schools. Please continue to share this petition and stand with us.

*All screenshots of political campaign pages and social sites were captured January 6, 2026.