Juanita Irizarry
Juanita Irizarry (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Cook County Board of Review to represent District 1 in Illinois. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on March 17, 2026.[source]
Irizarry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Juanita Irizarry was born in Greenville, Illinois. She earned a high school diploma from Kelvyn Park High School, a bachelor's degree from Greenville University in 1989, and a graduate degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2007. Irizarry's career experience includes working in non-profits, philanthropy, and government. She has been affiliated with the following organizations:
- Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy
- Common Cause Illinois
- Metropolitan Planning Council
- United Way Chicago
- Near Northwest Neighborhood Network
- Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership Steering Committee[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2026)
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Cook County Board of Review District 1
Incumbent George Cardenas (D) and Juanita Irizarry (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Cook County Board of Review District 1 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | George Cardenas | |
Juanita Irizarry  | ||
| ||||
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Endorsements
Irizarry received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- Citizens Action Illinois
- Northside Democracy for America
2015
The city of Chicago, Illinois, held elections for city council on February 24, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was November 24, 2014.[2] In the general election for Ward 26, incumbent Roberto Maldonado defeated Adam Corona and Juanita Irizarry.[3][4]
| Chicago City Council, Ward 26, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Roberto Maldonado Incumbent |
52.3% | 3,466 | |
| Juanita Irizarry | 33.9% | 2,248 | |
| Adam Corona | 13.9% | 919 | |
| Total Votes | 6,633 | ||
| Source: Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "Official general election results," accessed July 9, 2015 | |||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Juanita Irizarry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Irizarry's responses.
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I grew up in Humboldt Park, and was raised in a household rooted in service. My parents turned their apartment into a community hub, tutoring neighborhood kids, teaching them how to garden, and sharing fresh produce with families in need. Even as renters, they showed me that stable housing builds strong, connected families. Now, I want to bring that same community service mindset to the Board of Review. I will bring equity, transparency, and accountability to our broken system—that, for too long, has only served the powerful few while the many are left behind.
As your Commissioner on the Board of Review, I will continue to fight for working families, unlike my opponent who has put billionaires and corporations before working families–causing everyday people to carry the financial burden.- Make Billionaires & Corporations Pay Their Fair Share.
Too often, corporate landlords and large developers pay less than their fair share, while working families are left to make up the difference. Between 2021 and 2023, homeowners paid $2 billion more to cover corporate tax breaks granted by the Board of Review. As your next Commissioner on the Board of Review, I will: End backroom deals that give massive tax reductions to commercial properties while homeowners pay more. Ensure equitable access to free property tax appeal clinics to help homeowners and small businesses across the district. Require complete transparency in Board of Review decisions by publishing every appeal and its justification online for public review.
And more... - Protect Homeowners & Seniors with Transparency and Accountability. Too many families are being priced out of their homes because of rising property taxes. Homeowners deserve a fair, transparent system that protects them from sudden spikes and long-term displacement. I will: Protect homeowners and seniors from unfair tax increases by expanding outreach and workshops to explain assessment changes and appeal information in neighborhoods most at risk of displacement, and by publishing the data used to justify large commercial property tax decreases. Implement reforms to correct the systemic bias in the assessment and appeals process, to solve for long-standing inequities that have consistently overcharged communities of color. And Much More...
- Reform a Broken System. The current Board of Review favors those with power, money, and political influence. Real reform means standing up to that system—I have been doing that my entire career. Real reform means a system that helps working families, not Billionaires, and not Corporations. I will: Never accept campaign donations from property tax attorneys. Strengthen ethics and oversight of the Board of Review to eliminate pay-to-play politics and ensure decisions are based on facts, not favoritism. Expand the authority of the Office of the Independent Inspector General so every property tax appeal can be reviewed with true transparency and accountability. And Much More...
US Rep Ramirez D 3
Ald La Spata 1st Ward
Ald Ramirez 12th Ward
Ald Gutierrez 14th Ward
Ald Rodriguez 22nd Ward
Ald Lopez 25th Ward
Ald Fuentes 26th Ward
Ald Rodriguez 33rd Ward
Ald Vasquez 40th Ward
Ald Hadden 49th Ward
State Sen Vellanueva D 12
State Rep Ortiz D 1
State Rep Gonzalez, Jr. D 23
State Rep Mah D 24
State Rep Hernandez D 77
State Rep Rashid D 21
Cook County Comm Morita D 13
Cook County Comm Anaya D 7
Chicago BOE Board Member DeBerry D 2A
Bahena Police Dist Council Mbr D 10
Riverside Lib Board Mbr Greve Hack
Westchester Park Dist Comm Daniel Maldonado
Fmr Cook County Clerk David Orr
Fmr Ald Eisendrath 43rd Ward
Fmr Ald Smith 43rd Ward
Fmr State Rep Ryg Dist 59
Hon Barbara Flynn Curie
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 29, 2025
- ↑ Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Unofficial election results," accessed February 24, 2015
- ↑ Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "General Election Candidate List," accessed December 3, 2014
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