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.
Two men who both grew up in Humboldt Park, graduated from selective enrollment Chicago public high schools, and became teachers through Teach for America are facing off — again — in the race to represent a district that spans from West Town to Belmont Cragin.
Both candidates identify as progressives. Incumbent board member Carlos Rivas Jr. won in 2024 with 54% of the vote compared to Jason Dónes’ 46%. Rivas has taken a more fiscally conservative approach to the school budget than his opponent.
Rivas has support from the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS school support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years, charter school advocates, and some Northwest Side local and county officials. He is also endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”
Dónes is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and several Northwest Side elected officials, including local and state officials and one member of Congress. Both men have the support of individual donors.
Schools in District 3b are struggling with teacher and counselor shortages, higher property taxes, and low enrollment amid rapid gentrification and neighborhood changes. The district includes a mix of 32 dual-language, charter, and alternative schools serving mostly Latino students.
Rivas and Dónes both care about protecting immigrant students from federal immigration agents, supporting more affordable housing, and securing more resources and community partnerships for CPS families. Rivas says he wants to see less interference from the mayor on the board and to move away from using loans that will increase CPS’ budget deficit. Instead, he wants to leverage partnerships with social service organizations that can offer resources to children, such as therapy or counselor access.
Dónes, a CPS parent, is looking to increase budget transparency, push for creative solutions within the existing budget framework, and said on our CPS School Board questionnaire that he won’t accept donations from corporations or “private interest groups funded by billionaires and millionaires.”
To try to avoid a repeat of his loss in 2024, Dónes is aiming to be more visible in district areas that didn’t vote for him in 2024 and has more volunteers from his ties to the progressive neighborhood group United Neighbors of the 26th Ward, he said.
Dónes has taught and trained teachers in various CPS schools, worked on CPS’ Instructional Equity Working Group, and helped draft Illinois’ first set of culturally responsive teaching standards. Since 2023, Dónes has worked for Beyond 100K, a national nonprofit addressing the STEM teacher shortage, with a focus on attracting more teachers of color.
His two children attend Moos Elementary, where he has served on the Local School Council since 2020.
Dónes is the co-chair of United Neighbors of the 26th Ward group where he has advocated for more affordable housing. He has volunteered with the Northwest Side Rapid Response Team to keep families safe from federal immigration officers and organized with Northwest Side elected officials seeking reelection since last year.
Dónes faced two challenges to his candidacy, but the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners ruled in his favor.
Dónes said his organizing background, experience as a CPS parent, and LSC background distinguish him from Rivas, as do the endorsements and donations he’s received from neighbors and local community groups.
If elected, Dónes said he would work to increase budget resources for district schools, push for budget transparency, and work to protect CPS jobs that support immigrant students facing threats from immigration agents.
“Readers want to understand how our advocates are being radical and creative in how we (search for) revenue while also being smart and diligent about spending,” he said. “You don’t have to choose fiscal responsibility or radical advocacy — there’s a way to navigate both.”
Read Dónes’ full questionnaire responses.
Going into his reelection campaign, Rivas said “it’s not ideal” to face Dónes again. He said his voting record shows him to be the voice for working-class families, especially those worried about property tax increases amid gentrification and school changes.
He was one of six school board members who voted against the amended CPS budget, which narrowly passed this summer and counted on state revenue that was not guaranteed, a vote that “ruffled a few feathers” with area elected officials, he said.
His priorities include increasing support for neighborhood schools and improving support for students from immigrant families, according to our CPS School Board questionnaire. He also highlighted budget accountability.
“I think we have such a big structural deficit in CPS that we absolutely cannot keep relying on loans to get us out of the difficulties that we’re in,” Rivas said. “We need to continue thinking about the long-term success of the district, while still advocating for more money from Springfield.”
Rivas has worked for the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, a police oversight agency that investigates allegations of police misconduct, as the director of public affairs since 2022. He’s taught at CPS schools and UIC College Prep, a charter school, as an alumni counselor, and has been a teacher’s assistant and a security guard in CPS.
A homeowner and landlord, Rivas is also a transitional foster parent, fostering unaccompanied migrant children who need to be placed in Spanish-speaking households before they are sent to an adult sponsor. He said the experience has informed his perspective on the importance of dual-language programs in schools, stronger policies to protect immigrant families, and support for principals and counselors who can bring in more resources for students.
He also wants to improve support for students from immigrant families and policies to protect them from federal agents.
“I have a wide range of experience all across our district that defines me as someone who is thoughtful and looking at all sides when we’re thinking about the decisions we have to make for kids and families in our district,” Rivas said. “I am independent and I am not taking orders from any special interest group with what we’ve seen from the (mayoral) appointees.”
Read Rivas’ full questionnaire responses.
Ariel Parrella-Aureli is a reporter covering Logan Square, Humboldt Park and Avondale for Block Club Chicago. Contact Ariel at ariel@blockclubchi.org.