College student challenges police detective in race for District 8b, South Side and Southwest Side in Chicago School Board race

District 8b neighborhoods: New City, Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, McKinley Park, Bridgeport, the Loop, Brighton Park, West Lawn, Near South Side, Armour Square

Juan Ignacio González, a veteran Chicago Police detective and local coffee shop owner, is running against college student Alexander Angeles to represent District 8b, a long, narrow swath that stretches across the Southwest Side.

Angeles joined the race as a write-in candidate at the end of August. Earlier this summer, the Chicago election authority kicked incumbent and Mayor Brandon Johnson appointee Cydney Wallace off the ballot due to challenges to her petition signatures.

González, a Back of the Yards resident, said he was motivated to run for school board in the mostly Latino district after hearing from parents who were concerned about students being used as “political pawns” on May Day. The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools reached an agreement to keep schools open on May 1 while allowing civic actions after some back-and-forth over whether to call off school for demonstrations.

“Parents were speaking about some of the challenges and low academic standards we’re facing … and those are issues that I agree with,” he said. “I feel like in my community, there’s no voice for individuals that oftentimes cannot vote or aren’t part of the political system. I was asked to consider it, I looked at the layout, and felt I can help kids in the community.”

A recent graduate of Hancock College Prep High School and University of Illinois Chicago political science major, Angeles said he is running to be a voice for students, a trait he believes is lacking among board members.

Gonzalez is backed by groups that support school choice and oppose the Chicago Teachers Union. His two largest campaign contributions come from the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and The Urban Center, which says its mission is to “give voice to a centrist community in Chicago.” Angeles had no donations on file as of last week.

There are nearly 25,000 school-aged children in District 8b and nearly three-quarters attend a Chicago public school, according to CPS data compiled by Chalkbeat. Matching citywide averages, about 59% of students choose neighborhood elementary schools, while 22% choose neighborhood high schools.

The students enrolled here are primarily Latino, at 68%, while about 19% are Black and 7% are white.

None of District 8b’s schools received the state’s “exemplary” top rating last year, but 70% ranked at the second-best “commendable” level. Some 9% of the schools received the state’s lowest designation, “intensive,” indicating they remained among the bottom 5% of low-income schools in the state for four years after receiving comprehensive support or continued to have a graduation rate of 67% or below.