This story was reported and published in collaboration with WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom covering Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Stay informed with Chalkbeat Chicago’s newsletter, WBEZ and the Sun-Times’ education newsletter, and Block Club Chicago’s newsletters.
With full campaign coffers and support from deep-pocketed school choice groups, incumbent school board member Angel Gutierrez is guaranteed to keep his seat after nobody filed paperwork to run against him.
Gutierrez, a nonprofit leader and Garfield Ridge resident, is running unopposed to represent District 8a on the Southwest Side, where 60% of the population is Hispanic — roughly double the city’s overall percentage of Hispanic residents.
The area has leaned more conservative than other parts of the city and is home to more families than single-person households. In 2023, voters here heavily favored mayoral candidate Paul Vallas, a former Chicago Public Schools CEO, over Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer. In 2024, most precincts favored Donald Trump for president.
Gutierrez wants to improve special education, increase opportunities to learn skilled trades, and ensure access to reliable transportation, including school buses — proposals he said would benefit students attending their neighborhood schools. Many families in this district choose their neighborhood elementary schools but make other choices for high school.
Gutierrez supports continuing CPS’ strategy of allowing families to choose from a range of schools outside their neighborhood. He is also the only board member calling for the state to opt into the Trump administration’s federal tax-credit scholarship program, which offers a tax credit for donations made to organizations that grant scholarships for students to attend private schools or to pay for other education needs. Illinois has not agreed to participate.
Gutierrez sends his children to a Catholic school.
Gutierrez will serve a four-year term after he won a two-year term in 2024 to represent District 8, which is now split into 8a and 8b. He previously beat Chicago Teachers Union-endorsed candidate Felix Ponce with 63% of the vote. The sweeping victory and financial support from deep-pocketed donors such as billionaire Michael Sacks could have deterred other candidates.
Gutierrez is a champion of fiscal responsibility, pushing to get the district back on solid financial footing while improving the quality of education, he said.
In 2024, Gutierrez said he was running to create a more balanced CPS budget. Two years later, he believes he can also improve school board governance.
“If you pay attention and watch some of the ridiculousness that some of the board members bring, I bring that experience of knowing how to act with decorum, with respect to the institution, respect for the students, parents, and taxpayers,” he said.
Earlier this year, he sided with other elected school board members to reject CPS’ proposed $10 billion budget. The budget, which assumes the district will receive $150 million more in state funding than projected, narrowly passed.
The district’s finances remain a priority, he said. Families “are getting pinched with taxes everywhere you look,” whether it’s property taxes or sales taxes, he said, adding he plans to lead conversations about how to rightsize the district.
“We’re teaching in a world of now and not tomorrow, so I think we have to reimagine what our footprint looks like,” he said.
CPS has lost 45,000 students in the last seven years but has hired 10,000 more staffers.
To balance the budget, Gutierrez said the board needs to look at how many schools are underutilized, how many students have been lost, and how many employees were hired with pandemic-era funds that are no longer available.
“We have finite money,” he said.
He is endorsed by the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS support staff and has split politically with the Chicago Teachers Union in recent years. He is also backed financially by the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and endorsed by two other groups whose policies also generally oppose the teachers union.
Gutierrez leads fundraising and communications strategy for Enlace Chicago, a Little Village nonprofit. He previously led fundraising activities and developed programs for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Chicago Hope Academy, a Christian high school. He serves on the advisory board of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance and as a member of the steering committee for Nuestro Futuro, a fund dedicated to Latino philanthropy, among other local nonprofits.
He said his decades of experience as a nonprofit leader and public service consultant put him in a position to make “real decisions” about CPS’ leadership, hiring, staffing, and size.
“As an executive leader, I’m someone who’s been there, made hard decisions, has had to do layoffs, has hired in a C-suite,” he said.
His campaign contributors as of mid-September include big-pocketed donors such as local billionaire Michael Sacks and Jim Frank, executive chairman of the board of Wheels Inc. They have funneled tens of thousands of dollars to support candidates who support school choice.
He has also received donations from committees for Southwest Side officials including Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) and Ald. Marty Quinn (13th). Thanks to thousand-dollar contributions from some of these donors, Gutierrez’s campaign fund grew exponentially over the past year.
Read Gutierrez’ full questionnaire.
Francia Garcia Hernandez covers Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards for Block Club Chicago. Contact Francia at francia@blockclubchi.org.