Incumbent Rep. Aaron Ortiz, 34, is being challenged by Chicago Public Schools teacher Guadalupe Rivera, 41, in this Southwest Side district, which includes all or parts of Brighton Park, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, Gage Park and Chicago Lawn.
Ortiz won the sort of notoriety no lawmaker seeks when he left Springfield in the final hours of the 2024 spring session before the House had finished voting on the state budget. That led to a scramble in which House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch had to maneuver Democratic votes to suspend normal parliamentary rules in order to get the budget passed before the May deadline. Ortiz was punished the following year with his removal from Welch’s leadership team.
We tried hard, but couldn’t reach Ortiz’s campaign to hear his response to that or to get his position on various other issues.
Rivera is giving Ortiz his second primary challenge since he first was elected in 2018, in large part due to what she says is his lack of attention to the district.
Most of her policy views are to the left of ours, but we note that he got the Chicago Teachers Union’s endorsement rather than her, even though she’s been a CPS teacher for two decades and is the CTU delegate from her school. We also appreciate her maverick position in favor of Illinois opting in to the national voucher program, which provides private school scholarships to students at no cost to the state budget — something the teachers unions adamantly oppose.
“My position is not about undermining unions or public education,” she told us. “It’s about respecting families and ensuring any policy decision prioritizes equity, fiscal responsibility, and student outcomes.” We greatly appreciate such independent thinking.
We endorse Guadalupe Rivera.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois primary election here.
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