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

1) Unreliable and unsafe mass transit. We need to make sure that trains and busses are fully staffed to ensure that commuters are don't have to wait long periods of time for transportation. CTA need to make sure that trains, busses, and platforms are cleaned every day to offer a quality service to riders. We need police presence on mass transit, so people feel safe taking mass transit across the city. CTA needs to be fully funded as a public service but also needs to display the level of service that is efficient to increase ridership.

2) Street safety for all people needs to be enforced. We need barrier protected bike lanes to ensure that cars or pedestrians are in bike lanes as well as incentivizing the bicyclists to use the lanes and not the sidewalks. Paint is not infrastructure. We need better traffic lights and better street lighting to ensure public safety on the streets. We also need to rethink street layout, so bike lanes are between the sidewalk and parked cars, reducing chances of severe injury from cars. I would implement increased police enforcement of people parked in bike lanes as well as those breaking traffic laws.

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?

I walk to work every day as well as walking the neighborhood, but I also rely on driving. My son drives from out of the neighborhood because he needs to drop his children off at school and run errands. My staff takes the train to and from work every day. I would prefer that the areas were more pedestrianized to encourage walking and public transit in downtown but as an older man it is difficult for me to take the stairs of elevated public transit regularly and mass transit has become unreliable and unsafe for activities like grocery shopping of visiting other neighborhoods. Mass Transit is also difficult for my son because often it is not suitable or convenient for taking his young children places. My staff faces long delays and tardiness because of the CTA's unreliability. We need improvement in the CTA so everyone is encouraged to use it regularly.

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

Living and working in the Loop and West Loop, I noticed as the pandemic was ending and people were returning to work downtown that fewer people have been wanting to come back to the Loop. People have complained about transit safety, overcrowding, and unreliability. Having seen crowed platforms with long wait times, I became certain that changes were needed if we wanted the business, entertainment, and livability reemergence of the Loop.

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?

With how high our taxes are, we need the government to provide the sufficient services we pay for. I am in favor of implementing a city-wide sidewalk snow/ice removal system.

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?

We need to improve the length and quality of the CTA, so neighborhoods and residents are better connected to each other. We also need to improve sidewalks, so people feel safer crossing from one neighborhood to another in a continuously easy walk. I would also be in favor of supporting further investment in elevated bike and pedestrian paths (like the 606) that go through and connect multiple neighborhoods.

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

Cars and trucks produce massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions that hurts our overall environmental health. We need to reduce congestion and reliance on cars by increasing investment in public transportation. We also need to begin to shift city bus fleets to electric busses. The effects on our environmental health from transportation is clear when we look at a map and see the unhealthier areas are those often connected to shipping, trucking, and heavy car traffic as opposed to pedestrian or mass transit heavy areas with green spaces.

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?

[no response]

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?

Barriers that hold back construction and city improvement are the lack of long-term political and financial will in the city and state. IDOT only addresses short-term issues or problems from 15 years ago. I will work with the City Council, the Governor, and State Legislators to find the best options for plans and make sure that they are put into construction so we can actually address the needs of the city.

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 are unable to change the deal, but we still need to build streets as Chicago property and re arrange how we align the streets, bike lanes, and sidewalks.

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?

As a city we need drivers to slow down and focus. I believe better street lighting will improve visibility of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other cars to reduce collisions. We also need to enforce the laws we already have and give tickets to those that are speeding or driving while distracted. Intersection cameras and speed limit cameras help deter poor behavior.

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?

It is important that even personal and private vehicles possess the appropriate safety features to protect their drivers and others. Private vehicles need to maintain a certain weight and size to allow our city street to function smoothly and safely.

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

As a city we have the money to ensure a funding stream for pedestrian and bike infrastructure. Providing the necessary funds to this will help the city as a whole and create a more livable city.

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

I think we need pedestrian-only streets in every neighborhood to encourage safety, residential quality of life, as well as retail business growth.

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

We need to make CTA accountable for their service. We also need live tracking GPS on every bus, so people actually know where they are. We also need to hire more operators/drivers so there are enough busses on the road. We need data-driven research about where and when busses need to be to be the most useful.

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?

Increasing ridership will help balance their budget. To do this transportation needs to reliable, safe, and clean. CTA is a public service and should be treated as such, but the service needs to reflect the investment. We need accountability and transparency in the budget to know where the money is spent.

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

We need to evaluate the research and proposals to best implement this network. I would be open to discussing this with the public and City Hall. We need a network of transportation to improve the populations quality of life and environmental health.

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

Yes