What do you believe are the greatest transportation challenges facing the City of Chicago right now?

I believe that the greatest transportation challenges facing the City of Chicago right now are the CTA not having enough drivers, the CTA buses and trains ghosting the riders, and the CTA not building accessible stations when it renovates stations, such as at Morse Station and Jarvis Stations.

I believe that the Illinois Department of Transportation having to approve all Chicago Department of Transportation work on city streets and roads is redundant, wasteful, time-wasteful, and should be ended.

Do you or members of your family regularly use sidewalks, bike, take transit, drive, or a combination of any/all to get around? Does this correspond with your preferred/ideal modes of getting around? If not, what barriers do you and your family face in using your preferred mode of transportation?

My partner Trudy Leong and I regularly use sidewalks and take transit. These are our preferred/ideal modes of getting around. The barriers that we face in walking and public transit are infrastructure issues such as trip hazards on sidewalks and ghosting and derailment (1/26/2023, Morse Station) in public transit.

Can you share a personal experience that changed your opinion about a transportation related policy matter?

A personal experience that changed my opinion about a transportation-related policy matter is seeing my senior-citizen,person-of-disability-friend struggle step by step down the stairs at Morse Station after it was renovated, and did not add an elevator. Senior citizens and persons with disabilities do not seem to be prioritized by the CTA. I will work to make Morse and Jarvis Stations accessible if elected as Alderperson of the 49th Ward.

Chicago is a snowy city, and even one stretch of uncleared sidewalk can make it impassable – particularly for folks with disabilities, the elderly, and parents with young children. What is your position on implementing a universal city-wide sidewalk snow/ice removal service?

I support implementing a universal city-wide sidewalk snow/ice removal service and building a volunteer brigade. There needs to be oversight and Streets and Sanitation helping get sidewalks cleared at addresses that the property owners report that they are not able to clear the sidewalk because they are injured, are seniors, or are persons with disabilities.

It is now widely recognized and understood that interstate highways were used to physically divide urban communities from one another – often along racial and class lines. How do you propose we overcome these divisions to restore the urban fabric of Chicago and reconnect our segregated neighborhoods?

I propose that we overcome these divisions to restore the urban fabric of Chicago and reconnect our segregated neighborhoods by having universities that have urban planning and justice studies programs study the best way to reconnect our segregated neighborhoods. These studies and reconnecting segregated neighborhoods need to be prioritized to truly break the status quo of inequity.

What role do you believe transportation plays in Chicago’s collective greenhouse gas emissions, climate responsibility, and overall environmental health?

The role that I believe transportation plays in Chicago’s collective greenhouse gas emissions, climate responsibility, and overall environmental health is that the more public transportation and the fewer vehicles, the better. But we must also address how crime is exacerbated by public transit when individuals use public transit to come into our neighborhoods to commit crime. We need wise and just policing.

My plan is to have daily briefings with the City of Chicago sister agencies and update my constituents on the trends and issues we are seeing among the sister agencies. I will alert my constituents about criminal activity that affects them and infrastructure issues that affect them. I will not give my constituents non-answers and platitudes about issues that affect their public safety and public health.

What is your position on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s current proposals for rebuilding North DuSable Lake Shore Drive? Do you believe the proposed designs will reduce congestion, improve transit access and make pedestrians and cyclists safer? How do you think the current proposals will impact access to the lakefront?

My position on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s current proposals for rebuilding North DuSable Lake Shore Drive are that IDOT needs to also take into consideration lake flooding and rising lake levels.

I believe the proposed designs will reduce congestion, improve transit access and make pedestrians and cyclists safer, but not if the designs do not consider lake flooding and rising lake levels.

I think the current proposals will improve access to the lakefront but do not plan well enough for lake flooding and rising lake levels.

What barriers do you believe the Illinois Department of Transportation presents to Chicago pursuing better safe streets design standards and transit investments? How do you plan to work with City Council, the Governor, and State legislators to overcome these barriers?

The barrier that I believe the Illinois Department of Transportation presents to Chicago pursuing better safe streets design standards and transit investments is IDOT having to approve all CDOT work, which is redundant, wasteful, time-wasteful, and should be ended.

I plan to work with City Council, the Governor, and State legislators to overcome this barrier by having a university study done to determine how much resources we are wasting by adhering to the current practice and push to have CDOT be responsible for City of Chicago street and road work without having to get the work approved by IDOT. We will also study what benefits are gained by the current practice.

The 99-year parking meter deal enacted by former Mayor Richard M. Daley has been a barrier to enacting safe street designs by privatizing large portions of Chicago’s streets. What is your plan to address this?

My plan to address this is to work to explore all ways to end the 99-year parking meter deal and to prevent any further privatization.

Studies show us that speed and distracted driving kill. What do you think are the most effective ways to reduce driver speed and increase safe driving behavior?

The most effective ways to reduce driver speed and increase safe driving behavior are the following:

Include instruction on hit-and-run, distracted driving, buzzed driving, and cyclist yielding and cyclist rules of the road in driver’s ed.

Disseminate PSAs about avoiding hit-and-runs.

Include biking instruction and driver’s ed in elementary school instruction

What is your position on the City passing ordinances that attempt to regulate the size, weight, and/or safety features of personal and private vehicles?

I favor the City passing ordinances that attempt to regulate the size, weight, and/or safety features of personal and private vehicles, but we need to be sure that the ethics code iis adhered to and that the ordinances are not being used to favor some businesses over others.

What is your position on establishing a dedicated funding stream for safe and universal pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Chicago?

I support establishing a dedicated funding stream for safe and universal pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Chicago and I will work to have lasting road materials and not planned obsolescence to keep the road crews busy. Our CDOT crews and contractors will have more than enough work addressing all our crumbling infrastructure and replacing that infrastructure with non-plannned obsolescent structures.

What is your position on creating select pedestrian-only streets?

My position on creating select pedestrian-only streets is that we should widen narrow sidewalks, such as those on Glenwood Avenue in the 49th Ward.

The intersection at Devon Avenue and Sheridan Road is also dangerous and needs to be addressed with a pedestrian bridge.

Pedestrian-only streets, such as alfresco dining, benefit only certain businesses without taking into consideration the entire area around the pedestrian-only street.

In Jarvis Square, we see trucks and vehicles backing down streets and alleys, not able to access where they need to go, while the alfresco dining there is usually empty.

What policy solutions would you implement to ensure CTA buses operate on schedule, frequently, and quickly?

The policy solutions that I would implement to ensure CTA buses operate on schedule, frequently, and quickly are to have daily briefings with the CTA and the other City of Chicago sister agencies and update my constituents on the trends and issues that are occurring on the CTA. I will work to increase funding to hire more CTA drivers and train operators. There was a shortage of 1,000 bus drivers and train operators in Nov. 2022 (https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/11/11/severe-workforce-shortage-to-blame-for-ghost-trains-buses-as-cta-struggles-with-1000-open-jobs-leader-says)

I will not give my constituents non-answers and platitudes about issues that affect their public safety and public health, both of which are greatly impacted by the CTA.

Considering the role the CTA, Metra, and Pace play in providing public transportation within the city, what are your plans to address the impending fiscal cliff – a deficit of over $700 million – that the agencies will be facing in 2025?

My plans to address the impending fiscal cliff – a deficit of over $700 million – that the agencies will be facing in 2025 are to audit their budgets and expenditures and based on the audits, create a CTA, Metra, and Pace budget with my fellow alderpersons and the Mayor.

What is your position on establishing a network of Bus Rapid Transit lines in Chicago?

I believe in establishing a network of Bus Rapid Transit lines in Chicago. We need university studies on where to place the network of Bus Rapid Transit lines that would help to reconnect segregated neighborhoods. We need to prioritize this and break the status quo of inequity.

Will you commit to securing the funding necessary to implement CTA's plan to become 100% accessible according to ADA standards? (yes/no)

Yes