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

Transparency is the starting point. I will introduce a council order that the CTA President appear before the City Council on a quarterly basis. CTA leadership has to be held publicly accountable. Security must be top priority so riders feel confident they can arrive at their destination safely - increasing K9 patrols and install security cameras where needed. Recruitment of drivers and staff is important to ensure bus and train schedules are consistent and reliable. The 30th Ward office will be a community resource hub and include job notices for quality jobs for the city including well paid CTA jobs.

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 live in the west end of the district in Belmont Cragin. Our community is lacking the reliable public transportation despite being the largest Latino population in Chicago. What we do have are public resources like parks and libraries that we frequent often with my nearly 2 year old son and use our public walkways to get there. Having said that, it is very clear that each end of the district has been affected by lack of constituent services from the current alderman who is retiring along with 15 of his colleagues. In this retirement, I believe we will see many of the new aldermen be more in tune with their constituents’ needs when it comes to public transportation and the infrastructure repairs necessary to increase the use of our public systems.

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

Decarbonization initiatives are poorly conveyed to Latino households. A prime example of the education-based barriers the Latino population on the west end faced was the Belmont Cragin Youth Leadership Council spearheading bike lanes at a major corridor. Latino youth are the fastest growing demographic when it comes to bicycling. However, when 311 service calls for potholes and sidewalk repairs go unanswered for years, the parents of the youth feel like their taxpayer dollars are going to a resource they themselves do not use, but are still paying for through their tax dollars. As a teacher, I understand the value of educating a constituency before taking action. That’s why doing a block by block audit in my first 100 days is an important step in being informed by the constituency and the needs of each neighborhood.

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 am proud to be endorsed by Teamsters Joint Council 25 who represent the men and women of labor who plow our streets and keep our roads clear of debris. If council were to pass this ordinance, additional city jobs would have to be created and would be paid for by taxpayers. If the investment can be properly funded and is equitable across the city, then the implementation of a universal city-wide snow/ice removal service would be a benefit to all Chicagoans.

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?

Back in the 1960’s, the crosstown highway was scheduled to be built right through 30th Ward’s Old Irving Park neighborhood with an exit ramp going through a new homeowners backyard. The community organized around this issue, dismantling the project, and started one of the oldest neighborhood groups, The Old Irving Park Association. In the new 30th Ward, Addison Street is what connects our neighbors together, but these two communities have been siloed for far too long. Our community has neighbors that our office would invite to organize and connect with to share resources to each community. I believe there is so much to learn from each neighborhood association, nonprofit, business corridor, and the incredible neighbors who work in fields that can inform policy and community changes.

You will find nearly everything we do in our office will be data-driven and planned by the community. Instituting things like Participatory Budgeting, a Community Zoning Committee, and additional ways to build communities will be the foundation our office is built from to overcome socioeconomic and physical barriers.

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

Chicago is a car-dependent city and how we plan our infrastructure should be more inclusive to other modes of transportation for the betterment of the health and safety of all people. If we make public transportation more reliable, we can see ridership increase to the levels seen in 2017 at 1.6M riders on an average weekday. Today, we are seeing 900,000 riders daily, the size of Indianapolis.

Our highways and DuSable Lake Shore Drive are here to stay, but if we have the budget to maintain our car-dependent Chicagoans, we can budget in for a bike grid, reliability of our public transportation system and more.

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?

Any project of this size is going to be severely impact current users of both DuSable Lake Shore Drive and the lakefront path. It is expedient to saying it will create more green space and lessen traffic while there are still five different plans being considered. While residents of the 30th Ward are not as frequent of users of DuSable Lake Shore Drive given our proximity to 90/94, we will no doubt be impacted by the likely congestion created during the years-long construction. What residents of the 30th Ward can count on from our office is open dialogue and requests for public feedback from our residents on the plans that will come from every corner of the ward. While the lakefront is more of a destination for our community, it is the home of many Chicagoans who deserve to be heard in the major construction coming to one of our most beloved destinations.

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?

Infrastructure construction and policy must be geared toward pedestrian safety. There is funding in all government sectors that can be allocated towards improvements and I plan to work with all of the legislators within the 30th Ward alongside concerned community members to push for CDOT to make the structural changes necessary and for the State to fund it.

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?

When we move metered parking due to construction, those spots do not just disappear. Those spots must be placed somewhere else - that’s where you will find on residential streets with parking meters on the ends towards a major street.

Implementing a block by block audit in first 100 days will help identify where and how we can protect free and residential parking in the short and long term. And if there’s a way to end this deal, I’ll be first to sign.

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?

Implanting traffic calming measures in all new road construction to reduce speed and lower fatality rates. This could include curb cuts, protected bike lanes, pedestrian-only streets, dual bike lanes down one-ways, and raised islands.

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 am all for increased safety measures to protect the people of Chicago. I would need more information and data to come to a resolute decision and I am open to having this conversation for an ordinance like this.

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

I believe implementing Participatory Budgeting and using our annual ward by ward menu funds is a great way to get an understanding of where the 30th Ward is on bike lane construction.

I would be interested in hearing the ideas from Better Streets Chicago and our pedestrian and bike infrastructure advocates on their ideas of where and how funding could come from.

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

We saw during the pandemic these hybrid streets were a great way to keep people safely distanced while still enjoying the company of others and provided an alternative path. This would have to be a community conversation to identify streets that this could make sense on in the ward. As for downtown and other major business corridors, I think it is an interesting proposition that could present positives and challenges.

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

Residents of the west end of the 30th ward rely on bus service as the most dominant form of public transit. Jump Buses and TOD development should be looked at as ways to increase reliability and consistency of service. Additional long term plans to extend relevant rail lines, like the expansion of the Red Line on the southside, should be studied now to determine the scope and funding options that would be needed to better serve the residents of the ward.

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?

Chicago’s city council budgeting process must be year-round. The mayor’s office waits until that last quarter to allow public feedback and discourse to identify solutions towards our budget hurdles. This deficit is no exception. By planning ahead, we can learn from our budgeting shortfalls and plan accordingly. We must figure out a way to increase ridership. As we see the steady incline of the hospitality industry coming back, our working people and tourists alike will help increase ridership. But all issues go hand in hand. If we do not provide living wages, if we do not increase pedestrian infrastructure, and if we do not invest in our public transportation systems, we will not be ready to meet the demands of the people.

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

Mass public transportation ridership is at a low. Let’s bolster ridership by providing an affordable, reliable option.

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

Yes