As Chicago transitions from mayoral control to an elected 21-member school board, a significant number of district-level races will feature uncontested candidates in the upcoming November election. After a series of ballot challenges, nearly one-quarter of district contests will have no competition, including District 8B, where incumbent Cydney Wallace was removed from the ballot due to insufficient valid signatures. Similarly, District 8A also faces an uncontested race with incumbent Angel Gutierrez running unopposed, leaving the entire District 8—a predominantly Latino area on the Southwest Side with over 275,000 residents and 62 schools—with only one candidate choice.
Wallace had been appointed to her seat by Mayor Brandon Johnson but failed to meet the signature requirements to remain on the ballot. Her removal paved the way for challenger Angel Angeles to run without opposition in District 8B. Angeles, a University of Illinois Chicago political science student and former student representative on Hancock’s Local School Council, has aligned himself with the progressive Chicago Teachers Union and emphasizes priorities such as improving school lunches, amplifying student voices, and reducing class sizes.
Angeles expressed concern about the lack of electoral choice, noting ideological differences between himself and Wallace and stressing the importance of representing a district with diverse perspectives. “I think everyone deserves a choice,” he said. Previously, Angeles considered the traditional route of collecting signatures but refrained from opposing Wallace until her removal from the ballot.
The phenomenon of uncontested school board races is not unique to Chicago, with national trends showing similar patterns, often attributed to the demanding nature of the role and lack of compensation for board members. Vladimir Kogan, an education policy researcher and professor at Ohio State University, described school board positions as time-intensive and thankless, with minimal financial incentives and frequent public criticism, factors that discourage prospective candidates.
The movement to establish an elected school board in Chicago gained momentum following the controversial 2013 mass school closures, driven by community dissatisfaction and the desire for greater equity and local voice. Advocates, including the Chicago Teachers Union, have viewed the elected board as a means to enhance community representation. However, Kogan cautioned that low voter turnout and strong incumbency advantages complicate this ideal, often resulting in limited electoral competition and muted community influence.
In District 8B, Angeles faces no opposition following Wallace’s removal, whereas nearby District 8A also lacks competition with Angel Gutierrez running uncontested. Angeles’s eventual opponent was to have been Luis Gonzalez, a Chicago police officer and CPS graduate who cited concerns over disparities in student outcomes and advocates for stronger classroom instruction, particularly in reading and math. Gonzalez’s campaign, largely self-funded with $32,000 raised, was supported by pro–school choice groups that oppose the Chicago Teachers Union’s influence.
Gonzalez questioned Angeles’s capacity to influence educational delivery from a student’s perspective, while Angeles countered that younger voices are underrepresented in current governance structures. “These older people talk a lot about what’s best for students, but in reality, I feel like they don’t represent younger people very well,” Angeles said.
As Chicago embarks on its first cycle of elected school board members, the prevalence of uncontested races raises questions about voter engagement, representation, and the challenges inherent in democratizing governance for the nation’s third-largest school district.