Taxing the wealthy verses belt-tightening is at the heart of District 2a Far North Side Chicago School Board race

District 2a neighborhoods: West Ridge, Rogers Park, North Park

An attorney is challenging an incumbent with a background in community organizing in a two-way race to represent one of Chicago’s most culturally diverse areas along the Far North Side lakefront.

Elected in 2024, Ebony DeBerry favors taxing corporations and the wealthy to confront Chicago Public Schools’ budget woes. Her opponent sees belt-tightening as a path forward. Hector Morales, an attorney who attended CPS, said the district must spend more efficiently.

District 2a is home to a large number of immigrant families. More than 80 languages are spoken throughout the Rogers Park neighborhood alone, according to the Rogers Park Business Alliance.

The district’s 18 schools serve a diverse group of students too. Around 33% are Hispanic, nearly 26% are Asian American, 22% are Black and almost 15% are white, according to data compiled by Chalkbeat. CPS students in this district are more likely to choose their neighborhood schools compared to the city overall. More than 40% of high school students attend their neighborhood schools, compared with only 24% across the city.

The two candidates’ views differ on how to fund and invest in bilingual and dual-language education programs while also addressing CPS’ budget deficit.

“We have to find ways to make corporations, millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share,” DeBerry said in an interview, while Morales said board members “need to make sure we’re using what we got now, before we start asking folks for more money.”

DeBerry, a former CPS teacher, won 43% of the vote in 2024, edging out three other candidates.

DeBerry is one of four candidates who’s been endorsed by both the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents CPS support staff. Political action committees for both unions have contributed to DeBerry’s campaign too.

Morales has been endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, a political action committee that is anti-CTU, is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Morales is also endorsed by the Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools.