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.
In this majority Latino district, a longtime pastor and activist who fought against overcrowded schools in Pilsen and was appointed to the school board by the mayor in 2024 is facing a younger challenger and Chicago Public Schools graduate who worked for a nonprofit after-school program for the past six years.
Incumbent board member Emma Lozano is endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, while Jesus Ayala Jr. has the backing of charter school advocates, pro-business groups, and the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of support staff in CPS and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years. Ayala tried to run in 2024, but his name was removed from the ballot after a successful challenge to the signatures on his nomination paperwork.
This Southwest Side district is home to 48 public schools. Last year, 64% received the state’s second-highest designation, “commendable,” while 4.5% received an “intensive” designation, indicating they are among the bottom 5% of low-income schools in the state or have a graduation rate of 67% or below.
The students who attend District 7a schools are primarily Latino, and most come from families with low incomes. Nearly half are English learners.
Both Lozano and Ayala identified protecting immigrant communities and securing progressive revenue among their priorities, but they want to take different paths to get there.
For example, Lozano voted to pass a CPS budget that assumed additional revenue from the state. Ayala said relying on unsecured funds is a mistake. These differences have led to dueling endorsements in the race from the CTU and SEIU, labor unions that were once close allies, but are now fighting for influence on the school board.
Lozano has long been known as an activist and advocate for immigrant rights. She’s supported efforts to ensure English learners have access to the same education as native speakers and backed policies limiting CPS cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
She is also the pastor at Lincoln United Methodist Church in Pilsen. In 2006, a Humboldt Park church where Lozano served as pastor famously sheltered an undocumented woman facing deportation, becoming a symbol for a national movement of churches offering immigrants sanctuary.
Lozano and her children attended or graduated from various CPS schools, including Juárez and Wells Community Academy high schools and Lozano Bilingual Elementary, a school named for Lozano’s brother.
As a current appointed board member endorsed by the CTU, Lozano said she wants to keep her seat because she’s one of the few members who understands what it’s like to live as an immigrant in the city. That perspective is important, she said, as the Trump administration continues its aggressive immigration enforcement.
One of her priorities is improving support for students from immigrant families. When enforcement operations peaked in the city last fall, Lozano urged CPS to consider offering remote learning to students who feared going to school.
“If I’m not there, then I’m really worried because they have no voice,” Lozano said.
She also wants to secure more state funding by advocating for policies such as increasing taxes on the wealthy. She was one of 11 board members who voted earlier this year for an amended CPS budget that assumed the district would receive an additional $150 million in state funding that had not been committed.
Read Lozano’s full questionnaire.
Ayala worked at MetroSquash from 2020 until August, when he left to focus on running for the school board. The nonprofit teaches competitive squash and provides academic support to students on the South Side and in Evanston.
Ayala grew up in Bucktown and attended CPS as a child. He credited a CPS school with helping his dad acclimate to the U.S. That experience shaped Ayala’s belief that schools should be community anchors, he said.
“I love that my dad found support at a neighborhood school while learning English and navigating a new country,” Ayala said.
Ayala said volunteering with organizations that work with CPS students, such as Mikva Challenge, motivated him to seek a board seat. He saw a “disconnect between what the board was focused on and what our students need,” Ayala said. He thinks the board spends too much time discussing matters that involve a single school and should be tackling districtwide issues.
Ayala wants to focus on improving students’ academic outcomes and evaluating the effectiveness of learning materials, such as the district’s Skyline curriculum, a set of lessons in math, reading, science, social studies, and other subjects.
“Are students making the gains we want them to make and when they’re not, can we figure out why?” Ayala said.
Ayala also wants to address high rates of absenteeism and thinks improving the student experience can help. For example, he wants the district to pay more attention to addressing bullying.
The bulk of Ayala’s fundraising has come from a PAC affiliated with SEIU and 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.”
Read Ayala Jr.’s full questionnaire.
Emmanuel Camarillo is an education reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Contact Emmanuel at ecamarillo@suntimes.com.