A key question in the District 7b race is whether CPS should expand Sustainable Community Schools before establishing how well it works. The Chicago Teachers Union-backed initiative began in 2018 and provides participating schools $500,000 a year to work with a community organization, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Gage Park High School was among 15 campuses selected to join.
Putting the grant in budget context
CPS said school budgets received an additional $149 million in FY2025, with most of the increase driven by special education services, charter school funding increases and bilingual services, according to Chicago Public Schools. That systemwide figure does not provide individual school operating budgets, so it does not show how a $500,000 grant compares with the budget of a District 7b school.
The program’s results have been questioned. A 2023 CPS audit found no accountability measures for assessing its impact, NBC Chicago reported. The station also found that none of the eight original participating high schools recorded marked SAT-score gains between 2017 and 2024, and that scores fell at many of them. A separate Chalkbeat Chicago analysis found no widespread gains in attendance, graduation, or reading and math results across 20 schools. It did find chronic absenteeism was 13 percentage points lower for students who regularly attended after-school programs than for their peers at the same schools; more than $6.6 million in program money was left unspent by schools and partner organizations.
Published accounts also give different descriptions of the planned expansion. NBC Chicago reported that CPS expected to grow the initiative from 51 schools to 70 by 2028, at an additional cost of nearly $10 million. Chalkbeat reported a target of 70 schools by 2027 and an annual cost of $35 million. Those reports do not reconcile their timelines or figures.
How the candidates approach the program
WBEZ reported that Erika Diaz-Chavez wants CPS to evaluate the program before putting more money into it. Incumbent Yesenia Lopez favors continuing the initiative, while also calling for CPS to measure its progress. The difference is over whether to make that assessment a condition of further investment.
The candidates have also called for more support for students receiving special education services and for CPS to do more to protect immigrant families, according to WBEZ. The City of Chicago says it will keep issuing guidance to departments on complying with the Welcoming City Ordinance and the Illinois Trust Act if immigration enforcement increases. Its statement does not specify what CPS must do in a particular enforcement encounter.
Their endorsements come from different political groups. Lopez, who won her seat in 2024 with backing from the Chicago Teachers Union and U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, according to Borderless Magazine, has this cycle been endorsed by the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council and Our Schools Chicago, WBEZ reported. The union represents CPS support staff and has split politically with the CTU in recent years. Our Schools Chicago’s positions align with the CTU; it endorsed CTU candidates as well as Lopez, according to WBEZ’s endorsements guide.
Diaz-Chavez’s largest campaign contribution came from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools’ political arm, with another contribution from The Urban Center, WBEZ reported. She has worked for the Chicago Park District for more than 20 years and oversees the 606 trail, according to Borderless Magazine.
The schools and students in District 7b
District 7b schools serve the highest share of Hispanic students in CPS, though some schools have predominantly Asian American student populations, Borderless Magazine reported. The Chicago Tribune put the district’s population at about 63% Hispanic, 22% Asian, 12% white and 2% Black. WBEZ reported that about 84% of students come from low-income families and roughly half are English learners.
The number of schools varies by account: WBEZ reported 34, while the Chicago Tribune reported 33. In WBEZ’s account, 13% of District 7b schools ranked in Illinois’ top 10% last year, 73% received the second-highest rating, commendable, and 13% were designated targeted. That designation applies when at least one student group performs at or below the level of students in the state’s lowest-performing 5% of schools.
