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

The greatest transportation challenges facing the City of Chicago right now are:

• The crisis in public transit drive by inadequate staffing and service, and concerns about cleanliness and safety – I will fight to eliminate ghost buses and trains by demanding CTA provide accurate and dynamic schedules, hold CTA to account for achieving cleanliness and safety goals, and work to support the recruitment of sufficient staff by ensuring workers receive the compensation, benefits, and safe working environments they deserve.

• Lack of infrastructure that prioritizes pedestrian safety and walkability – Much of our City is optimized for vehicle traffic, with little thought given to walkability or pedestrian safety. Throughout our City, and especially in the 48th Ward, we must work block by block to remedy this issue consistent with the needs of local communities.

• Inadequate cycling infrastructure – I support activists’ call for a safe city-wide bike grid, and believe we must comprehensively address unsafe road conditions for cyclists, recognizing that paint alone cannot keep cyclists safe.

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?

As a born-Chicagoan who has never owned a car, I rely on mass transit to get to work, visit friends, travel, and go shopping. When it comes to moving within my neighborhood, I am an avid pedestrian, and prefer to walk to destinations whenever possible. In addition, in my family there is a cyclist who uses a bicycle as a frequent mode of transportation as well as for recreational purposes.

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

The unacceptable rise in the number of “ghost” buses and trains since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic truly brought home to me how important effective leadership is to the functioning of our transit system. If we do not have transit system leaders with understanding, vision, and creativity, our transit systems will continue to suffer.

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 making progress towards a universal city-wide sidewalk snow/ice removal service. I also support funding to improve the conditions of sidewalks all year long and facilitate mobility across all groups of Chicagoans, especially those with disabilities, the elderly, and families with young children.

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?

While highways are one way in which transit systems have been used to divide us, I believe that effective accessible public transit also has the power bring us back together, and help right historic wrongs. That is why I support our CTA, Pace, and Metra trains and buses, and why I believe we must invest in and protect these essential transit systems.

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

It has long been clear that those who live in dense, walkable neighborhoods with adequate access to clean public transit contribute far less to climate change than residents in car-dependent suburbs. That is why building a welcoming, transit-rich city must be one of our central strategies when it comes to fighting climate change and improving 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?

As alderperson, I will advocate to ensure that IDOT and CDOT planners strike a better balance between regional travel needs and the needs of the 48th Ward community when it comes to the management of the northern terminus of DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Too often, traffic planning has prioritized automobile through traffic coming off of DuSable Lake Shore Drive and heading to the Northern suburbs. We need to make sure that ongoing efforts to re-engineer traffic patterns do not entrench this pattern. Instead, we must seize this opportunity to address the needs of our community, reduce traffic and congestion, ensure access to the Lakefront for the entire city, and ensure safety for cyclists and pedestrians in the 48th Ward.

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 Illinois Department of Transportation has authority over many roads in Chicago. Too often, however, IDOT acts as a barrier to improving our streets, vetoing important proposed enhancements on the grounds that they supposedly conflict with State regulations. As alderperson, I will work closely with members of the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor’s office to end IDOT intransigence. Working with State elected officials, I will fight to ensure that IDOT systematically changes its perspective, and becomes a true partner to our City when it comes to creating better, safer Chicago streets.

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?

The Illinois Department of Transportation has authority over many roads in Chicago. Too often, however, IDOT acts as a barrier to improving our streets, vetoing important proposed enhancements on the grounds that they supposedly conflict with State regulations. As alderperson, I will work closely with members of the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor’s office to end IDOT intransigence. Working with State elected officials, I will fight to ensure that IDOT systematically changes its perspective, and becomes a true partner to our City when it comes to creating better, safer Chicago streets.

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?

Reducing driver speed and increasing safe driving behavior is vital throughout Chicago. It is particularly vital for the 48th Ward, one of the most densely populated residential areas in the City, situated at the northern terminus of DuSable Lake Shore Drive. That is why I believe we should consider at least the following approaches to achieving this goal, following carefully conducted traffic studies:

• Make sure that signage and traffic signals incorporate and reflect the needs of pedestrians, cyclists,

and non-drivers, and not just vehicle traffic

• Reduce posted speed limits

• Reduce the number of lanes dedicated to auto traffic

• Make crosswalks, and other pedestrian/cycling infrastructure more prominent and visible

• Reduce the speed of turning traffic

• Improve the enforcement of moving violations

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 the regulation of size, weight, and safety features of personal and private vehicles, consistent with the requirements imposed by our federal regulatory system.

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

I support the establishment of a dedicated funding stream for, safe, and universal pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Chicago.

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

I support the creation of select pedestrian-only streets following a robust community process and careful analysis of local traffic and logistics needs.

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

In the long-term, the only way to ensure CTA buses operate on schedule, frequently, and quickly is to recruit and retain the staff necessary to operate and maintain our bus fleet. That is why I will advocate to ensure that the CTA takes recruitment seriously, works to hire the staff it needs, and offers a safe work environment, and adequate salaries and benefits. In the near term, I will also fight to hold CTA leadership accountable for posting accurate arrival/departure times, and meeting its obligations when it comes to bus safety and cleanliness.

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?

As a native Chicagoan who has never owned a car, I am acutely aware of the critical role that the CTA, Metra, and PACE play in the lives of so many Chicago and Chicagoland residents. That is why I believe we must protect and invest in the CTA, Metra, and Pace, and find them the funding they need to support their essential operations.

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

I strongly support the development and establishment of a network of Bus Rapid Transit lines in Chicago.

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

Yes