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

Transportation and public safety infrastructure improvements form the backbone of my work as Alderman the 37th Ward and I will persist in my ongoing fight to improve our transportation policies – supporting and enhancing our public transportation system and working toward initiatives that reduce west side traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety. I also believe in improving the delivery of basic city services to keep our neighborhoods attractive places to live, work and play. The greatest public transportation challenges today are two-fold and inter-related: SAFETY on, and the SCHEDULE RELIABILITY of our buses, EL's, and commuter trains. Remnants of COVID-19 pandemic-related service delivery and staffing issues continue to plague the CTA, translating in troubling lower ridership and revenue levels, which at current downward trend levels is not sustainable to maintaining long-term, future quality transit services for residents and visitors in the City of Chicago. I strongly advocate for more state and federal funding to address system modernization updates, and more comprehensive hiring and staff retention, and where necessary retraining modules. Increasing CPD presence, with more video security technology is also a paramount strategy.

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 family and I are active members of our communities, highly engaged in a variety of civic and public programs, initiatives, and events, etc. and we regularly walk, take transit, drive, and sometimes use bikes to traverse our diverse neighborhoods and across the City of Chicago. We are flexible and environmentally conscious, so our ideal transportation modes vary depending upon our ever evolving situational needs and those of the 37th Ward constituents. The major barriers we face, as do many mobile, urban Chicagoans, are crowded daily transportation routes during business rush hours, but as savvy city travelers with foresight, advance scheduling and planning, we are often able to successfully navigate, and minimize the transportation issues, barring unforeseen and sometimes unavoidable emergency transportation-related circumstances.

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

As a veteran elected official, my experiences are multi-faceted and therefore, opinions about transportation related policy matters are generally formed through intensive research, analysis, direct observation and communication with a diverse cross-section of both ward and citywide transit officials, staff, and constituents using various transportation modes.

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 believe the concept of a universal city-wide sidewalk snow / ice removal service is a spectacular one which during winter in Chicago, could greatly assist and enhance physical street safety for workers, parents with young children, seniors, the disabled among others. However - - the fiscal reality of implementing and paying for such services from already strained city coffers is another matter. And in today’s highly divisive and often challenging governmental public policy environment, where expanded city services are a critical demand by many constituencies, yet the resolve to address the possible municipal and taxpayer costs associated with delivering them is considerably less popular, especially among lower-income, financially burdened residents in areas most in need of these amenities. Currently, city building owners and homeowners are required to remove snow and ice from in front of their properties within hours of snowfall, or risk facing non removal fines. One thing is certain: we know that this will be costly. Perhaps, implementing a voter ballot referendum is best.

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?

The racial, social class, and economic divisions in Chicago are both deeply ingrained and well-known, and despite decades of effort, although major breakthroughs have occurred - - unfortunate, consistent complexities remain. There are apparently few, easy answers to resolve this enduring cultural urban calamity which has negatively stratified individuals, groups, and neighborhoods across the city landscape. Therefore, equally persistent efforts by well-meaning, dedicated generations Chicagoans to UNIFY multi-ethnic residents within our 77 neighborhoods must remain a civic priority. While we cannot today physically remove the multiple highways and byways that crisscross the city, we must WALK THE TALK to generate this change. I also BELIEVE that by working TOGETHER, we the PEOPLE can truly achieve that which is considered Impossible and even those things considered Miraculous!!! The Impossible can be Achieved Immediately - - while Sometimes the Miraculous can take us just a Little Longer!!

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

According to environmental research studies, every vehicle on urban city streets like Chicago and connecting roads releases an average of one pound of CO2 per mile driven. Emissions of carbon dioxide in the transportation sector accounted for 38 percent of energy-related emissions in the United States in 2021—the largest share of such emissions of any sector of the economy. Compared with individuals driving cars alone, taking public transportation reduces CO2 emissions by 45%, decreasing pollutants in the atmosphere and improving air quality. That’s a significant climate impact. We must do more to encourage greater utilization of city public transit whenever possible, by increasing service quality, safety, and transit equity.

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 champion relevant IDOT investments FIRST on Chicago’s West Side. I am also amenable to promoting transportation safety on North DuSable Lake Shore Drive to ensure that no matter how Chicago residents travel along the lakefront—whether by bus, or car, bicycle, wheelchair, or by walking on foot— they can be confident that they will arrive at their chosen destinations safely and securely. Reducing traffic congestion remains important and improving lakefront access is another critical greenspace factor for widespread local enjoyment of our precious lake Michigan natural assets.

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?

Transportation infrastructure barriers can be broken and reimagined to suit the city’s current and future needs. Central to the work of establishing better streets across Chicago, starts with developing strong partnerships with community residents, elected officials and local leaders, city and state agencies. Together, we must come to the table to find realistic and financially affordable municipal solutions. We, the Chicago City Council, must bring our diverse, unique skills, insights, and expertise and a commitment to build strong collaborative relationships. This means being engaged with a wide range of community stakeholders – developing plan proposals, sharing ideas, then showing up, listening to, and respecting each other. United in purpose, we can create a citywide transportation action plan – crafted not to the communities and not for the communities, but rather with the ALL of the communities representing people in Chicago.

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?

Innovation and decisive action are the cornerstones of addressing barriers to creating safer streets for Chicago residents, businesses, and visitors alike, regardless of the origin of the impediments. We must review strategies for exploring an unprecedented opportunity to redirect resources, better deploying them in the service of our mission as City Council members, which is delivering street-oriented improvements that will endure for generations to come.

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?

My philosophy about increasing safe driving measures reflects utilizing a multi-pronged approach, including working with the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) to further study and implement a ‘slower residential streets’ and enhanced walkability design throughout the city. We can also further explore digital speed signage, revamped grid streets to prioritize transit and bike-friendly precedence measures, while especially concentrating on historically disinvested neighborhoods as well. It is vitally important that we redesign our urban city systems in ways which connect them with jobs, resources, and opportunities, and empowering them to build generational wealth.

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?

This is an often-delicate issue, when city officials attempt to what many feel, over-regulate the personal lives and possessions of city residents.

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

I am willing to take it under consideration.

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

This is a potentially viable option for some areas of the city.

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

First and foremost, we must repair, rebuild, and modernize our city streets, and CTA transportation system networks, with a particular emphasis on climate change mitigation, service-related resilience, equity, and safety for all users. To help accomplish this objective, Alders should strongly the city of Chicago must apply for available federal resources under the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This and other transformative investments from the State of Illinois are needed, and will modernize our aging CTA transit infrastructure to deliver safer, cleaner, and more equitable transportation systems for today and a sustainable future. The ultimate goal? Improving healthy, sustainable transportation options for countless Chicagoans by upgrading and expanding public transit networks across the city of Chicago.

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?

the late, great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “…We are facing some difficult days ahead…” Clearly, the transit-oriented work ahead of us will require resourcefulness, ingenuity, and a firm commitment to do the big, tough, yet necessary things that we know we must do to effect meaningful transportation change in the nation’s 3rd largest city. It will require us city legislators to remain true to our core values of service, letting them guide us through demanding work, adopting new approaches, and working closely with our various constituent groups to generate support for potentially difficult upcoming fiscal and transit delivery decisions. As the stewards of our Chicago transportation system, we take seriously the enormous responsibility and opportunity before us. In the coming years, a Chicago Transit Redevelopment Strategic Plan will help to structure and prioritize our efforts, as we continue our work to ensure that Chicago’s public transportation systems serve all of the traveling public equitably and well, and decisively secures our region’s economic strengths in the decades ahead.

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

For years, the CTA and the Chicago Department of Transportation extensively planned, designed, and conducted considerable outreach in preparation for the establishment of a proposed major north-south Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route along Ashland Avenue. That initiative included converting mixed-traffic lanes to bus-only and bike lanes with other pedestrian amenities. However, despite after considerable marketing, strategic analysis, discussion, intense debate concerning the advantages and disadvantages concept was unfavorably received by a majority of city residents and officials alike and was not advanced forward. There is currently one BRT line in Chicago’s loop, which has yielded only minor transit success.

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

Yes