Illinois - State Removes 2 School Boards - NYTimes.com The State Board of Education removed the elected school boards in the East St. Louis and North Chicago districts on Thursday, citing nagging academic underperformance. Under Illinois law, the state education superintendent, Christopher A. Koch, will direct the districts" regional superintendents to replace the board members. Dr. Koch then will appoint a five-person independent panel to take their place. Last year, only 60 percent of East St. Louis students and 52 percent of North Chicago students met or exceeded standards under the federal No Child Left Behind law. The districts" failure to meet those standards for nine years prompted the state's intervention. The East St. Louis district has more than 7,000 students, while the North Chicago system has nearly 4,000 students.