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

Chicagoans must be able to travel across the city safely and efficiently. CTA must improve reliability, frequency, safety and quality of their services. It is clear that accountability is sorely needed. Efforts must be assessed for a strong return on investment. City Council must convene quarterly hearings with the CEO to perform audits, discuss goals and progress made towards reaching increased ridership, reliability, quality, and safety for riders and workers.  

We must invest in our infrastructure, shifting CTA busses from diesel to electric. Our city must call on our federal representatives to grow opportunities for strategic investments to manufacture our electric fleets here in Chicago, putting people to work to make our transit system more reliable and ultimately increase ridership.  

I support the expansion of the red line on the south side, a critical step to improve equity on the CTA, and also would create 6000 jobs. I support the Plow the Sidewalks campaign to ensure pedestrians can continue to be able to navigate our city in the winter. I support building a grid of protected bike lanes so that cyclists of all ages and abilities can travel in our city. In our ward, we anticipate transforming all of 16th Street to make way for a protected bike lane and reinvesting in our murals.

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?

Yes, all of the above for myself and my family. We would prefer to bike more places but because of the lack of safety, we choose to take public transit or drive. CTA service must be improved and protected bike lanes must be expanded to properly serve our communities. With three young children, we have been heartbroken to see the loss of life in recent years - children and all people must be protected from collisions - this is a critical priority.

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

In June 2022, my wife gave birth to triplets. She and I are so grateful for our babies and we want to be able to experience the best of our city with them while they are children - we know that in order to travel to Chicago's wonderful attractions by bicycle, systemic change will be needed in how we share our streets. I am committed to organizing with Chicagoans across our ward and city to make safer streets a priority.

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?

In my opinion, this is not an option. If we are a city that is welcoming to all people, we must plow our sidewalks to ensure equitable access to all parts of our city for people of all mobility levels.

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?

This is a wonderful question and I'm grateful community leaders are asking it. Chicago's 25th Ward is an environmental justice community. Truck traffic, industrial polluters, and I-55 traffic surround our communities with air pollution that harms our quality of life and our health. Democracy is a critical path forward. We must re-imagine our communities at intentional and inclusive community driven conversations about our future vision for our communities, and then orient our public policy towards the goals identified by community members in public forums and even ballot referendums to ensure we are building consensus about our vision for the future of our community. I am hopeful we can begin to prioritize green spaces and our access to our river for future generations to enjoy.

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

By improving public transit and turning our city away from centering the personal vehicle, we can reimagine life in our city and also make our communities more resilient against climate change and contribute less emissions to our planet and less pollutants to our health. We need the political willingness to make these changes in our city.

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?

I support taking our time and not rushing on an option that simply perpetuates a status quo. Others have proposed a lake shore drive oriented less around cars and more around the needs of our communities and public transit. I believe it is a worthwhile investment to explore these alternatives that could favorably impact the enjoyment of our priceless lakefront for generations to come.

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?

We have a lack of political willingness to reorient our society away from trucks and personal vehicles. Groups advocating for pedestrian, cyclist and public transit must be at the decision making table in institutions like IDOT to ensure all voices are at table when planning future infrastructure and investment projects.

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?

We must aggressively seek a way to disentangle Chicagoans from this unfair and corrupt deal. We cannot sacrifice our next generations well being in surrendering to the terms of this parking meter deal. I am committed to seeking our options with council and any other route to breaking this deal.

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?

In the 25th Ward, we have expanded speed bumps. We must put more signs identifying the rights of pedestrians, and most importantly engineer safer streets that naturally reduce the speed of drivers. We must increase opportunities to take public transit as an alternative to driving in a personal vehicle.

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 support ordinances that limit the size, weight, and safety features of personal vehicles. Many consumer vehicles on the road today could not see a child standing in front of the vehicle. This is dangerous and unacceptable.

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

I have proposed an Amazon tax in City council to tax Chicago's most affluent corporations to pay for the critical services Chicagoans need. I support establishing a dedicated funding stream for safe and universal pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Chicago.

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

During the pandemic, many streets in the 25th Ward were transformed into pedestrian only streets, to the joy of many in our community. I believe our city should be intentional about creating more pedestrian only streets to revitalize our communities and our culture and economic development opportunities.

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

CTA must improve reliability, frequency, safety and quality of their services. It is clear that accountability is sorely needed. Efforts must be assessed for a strong return on investment. City Council must convene quarterly hearings with the CEO to perform audits, discuss goals and progress made towards reaching increased ridership, reliability, quality, and safety for riders and workers. CTA workers and riders, and the press, must be at the decision making table to ensure public accountability in this reform process. We must invest in our infrastructure, shifting CTA busses from diesel to electric. Our city must call on our federal representatives to grow opportunities for strategic investments to manufacture our electric fleets here in Chicago, putting people to work to make our transit system more reliable and ultimately increase ridership.  

I support the expansion of the red line on the south side, a critical step to improve equity on the CTA, and also would create 6000 jobs. 

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?

We cannot keep taxing the poor. Chicago's wealthiest corporations depend on a functioning CTA, Metra, and Pace system to transport the essential workers they need for their companies. We must equitably tax corporations to make the essential investments needed in our infrastructure.

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

I support it.

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

Yes.