Jesus Ruiz

Jesus Ruiz

Education

Bachelor's

Loyola University

Graduate

Northeastern Illinois University

Personal

Profession

Community relations and special projects officer

Contact

Personal website

Jesus Ruiz was a candidate seeking an at-large seat on the Waukegan Public School District 60 Board of Education in Illinois in the general election on April 7, 2015. He lost the election.

Biography

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Ruiz has lived in Waukegan for 20 years and is a graduate of the Waukegan Public School District 60. He works as the community relations and special projects officer at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He is a member of the Waukegan Public Library Board, the Waukegan Park District Foundation Board and the United Way of Lake County Allocations Committee. He is also president of the Latino Coalition of Lake County. Ruiz earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Loyola University and his master's degree in higher education leadership from Northeastern Illinois University.

Elections

2015

See also: Waukegan Public School District 60 elections (2015)

Three of the seven at-large seats on the Waukegan Public School District 60 Board of Education were up for general election on April 7, 2015. The seats held by incumbents Donald H. Elliott, Cheri-lynne Pierson-White and Tommy Rhyan were on the ballot. They faced seven challengers, Domingo "Sonny" Garza, Reyna Montes, Dave Pfeifer, Pauline Redd, Rick Riddle, Jesus Ruiz and Gerald Witter. Rhyan ran as a write-in candidate.

Three newcomers won the election. Riddle, Pfeifer and Garza were elected to the board.

Results

Waukegan Public School District 60, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Rick Riddle	18.1%	1,856
	Nonpartisan	Dave Pfeifer	15.8%	1,622
	Nonpartisan	Domingo "Sonny" Garza	12.8%	1,317
	Nonpartisan	Reyna Montes	11.8%	1,209
	Nonpartisan	Jesus Ruiz	9.5%	972
	Nonpartisan	Cheri-lynne Pierson-White Incumbent	8.8%	901
	Nonpartisan	Donald H. Elliott Incumbent	7.6%	780
	Nonpartisan	Gerald Witter	7.4%	758
	Nonpartisan	Pauline Redd	6.3%	645
	Nonpartisan	Tommy Rhyan (write-in) Incumbent	1.9%	199
Total Votes				10,259
Source: Lake County Clerk, "Consolidated Election - April 7, 2015: Official Results," accessed April 28, 2015, Lake County Clerk, "Unofficial Write-In Results by Candidate ID," accessed April 28, 2015

Funding

School board candidates in Illinois are only required to file campaign finance reports if they accept contributions or make expenditures in excess of $5,000 in a 12-month period.

Ruiz reported no contributions or expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections in this election.

Endorsements

Ruiz did not receive any official endorsements for this election.

Campaign themes

2015

Ruiz highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:

“	Integrity Integrity is a fundamental trait any public servant must have. It is the ability to: be honest; demonstrate strong moral character; and place the interests of the public first before any personal gain. The Waukegan School Board must protect the interests of the District 60 as a governmental entity, but first and foremost represent the educational interests of Waukegan’s children and their families, who are the future of our city. I am an honest and committed citizen looking for the opportunity to make an impact on the way we conduct business at Lincoln Center. Help me bring back trust in our School Board. Sound Decision Making Today more than ever, education is the foundation for the future of our children. As a school board member, my decisions will be based on the best objective, unbiased information available to me. My expertise in educational leadership prepares me to bring information to the Board on the best research- and evidence-based strategies that will make the Waukegan School District a high achieving district in order to assure the best educational and future opportunities for our children. Innovation In today’s global society, our children must compete not only among themselves, but within a global job market, for well-paid, high skilled jobs in a market that is constantly moving forward and demanding more rigorously educated employees. Waukegan Public Schools ought to be at the forefront of educational innovation and technology to give our children the best chance to reach their goals. We live in a hub of innovation in Lake County that includes Universities, Biotechnology firms, Pharmaceuticals, large corporations and small businesses. The potential of our city and our surroundings has yet to be fully tapped for the benefit of our schools. Let’s take the greatest advantage possible to leverage these assets and help our students reach their dreams through partnerships and strategic alliances. Accountable and Transparent Waukegan School District and its School Board need to and must win back the trust of our community, and its teachers and students if we are to achieve excellence in our schools. As a Waukegan School Board member, I will make a concentrated effort to assure that Waukegan residents see and believe that the School Board members, District Administrators along with every employee of our district work for you. We owe every resident our best efforts to serve and inform them in a timely and accurate way of School Board decisions that affect their families and children. Accountability and transparency in our decision making processes must be the cornerstone for winning and keeping the community’s trust and good will. Excellence How long can our school district remain in academic probation? Why have we not been able to reach higher standards in our college readiness? Why do our students feel underprepared and overly stressed when they get to college? These are all questions that must be asked and honestly answered. We must learn that the status-quo is not an acceptable outcome for our district. We must raise the bar and challenge our teachers, our students and administrators to believe in our students and help them not only pass standardized tests, but to truly explore and reach their full potential. We must increase the number and capacity of our AP programs, our honors courses and encourage our students to become lifetime learners and stewards of their own future. Inclusion The Waukegan School Board must actively work to connect with our community and understand the needs of our teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Decisions that affect our children and our schools must not be made in silos behind closed doors, but must be part of a larger collective desire to make lives better in Waukegan. While not every decision can be made this way, we must work together to address the many issues that affect our schools. We must leave behind competing priorities and past instances of conflict and work to find common ground to address what is in the best interest of our children and our community. Help me create a new beginning for our school district; we can do it together.	”
—Jesus Ruiz's campaign website (2015)

Recent news

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Jesus Ruiz - Google News

See also

• Waukegan Public School District 60, Illinois
• Waukegan Public School District 60 elections (2015)
• Hot tub Gatorade, turnout in Peoria and the Wisconsin state budget... (April 8, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Waukegan Public School District 60
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page