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

Many Chicagoans, myself included, have been frustrated by the recent lack of reliable bus and train service, which has been largely due to short staffing at CTA. There are hundreds of vacancies at the moment, and to that end I’m glad to see the CTA offering hiring bonuses for new mechanics and drivers, as well as hosting career fairs. As Alderperson, I would work to bring these Career Fairs to the ward so that ward residents have access to good-paying transportation jobs, while also increasing the capacity of CTA to deploy more buses and trains. I am pleased that President Dorval Carter has committed to meeting with City Council quarterly to report on improvements, and I would hope to see this continue into the next City Council term. Chicago residents rely on the CTA to get to work, school, and general travel, and our world-class city deserves a world-class public transit system.

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 kids regularly take CTA to get to school and sports practices, so the service reliability issue has been a major concern in our family. During warmer months, our family takes recreational bike rides, and we understand firsthand the need for safer bike infrastructure.

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

When I was knocking on doors, I met a CPS crossing guard who explained the tangible danger that she feels for herself and the students she sees every morning and afternoon. She shared with me about cars hitting the brakes just seconds before reaching the crosswalk, and her frustration that her calls to the alderman went unanswered. Additionally, we shouldn’t have to rely on cross guards for our children to cross the street. If an intersection is dangerous to cross alone, it needs infrastructural changes so that students (and all residents) can get around safely.

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 wholeheartedly support the #PlowTheSidewalks campaign. This is a matter of accessibility for our disabled and elderly residents, and would positively impact all Chicagoans’ winter safety. I would look forward to being a champion of this legislation as the next Alderperson of the 36th Ward.

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 legacy of redlining and the Daley Sr. administration’s intentional efforts to segregate communities by race and class can still be plainly seen in our city’s landscape today. If we want to undo this legacy, we need to fully invest and commit ourselves to affordable housing. The waitlist for CHA keeps people doubled-up with family, on the streets, in shelters, or in bad housing conditions. We can more fully integrate our communities and neighborhoods by making sure affordable housing is available in every zip code, with the culturally relevant resources necessary to incentivize people to apply. Additionally, by expanding transit access (e.g. the recent Red Line expansion) we can help break down the barriers between isolated communities.

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

Undoubtedly, vehicles play a major role in contributing to our city’s collective greenhouse gas emissions as we face a climate crisis. According to the EPA, the transportation sector is the #1 emitter of greenhouse gasses. This isn’t just a matter of climate change, but also health equity. Communities of color have higher rates of asthma due to highways and polluters driving through their neighborhoods.

In regards to solutions, there are three types of vehicles that come to mind for me: personal, city-owned fleets, and private vehicles run by industry and corporations. With our city-owned fleets, I fully support legislation for the CTA to purchase only electric buses starting in 2025, and for the entire bus fleet to be fully electric by 2035. I’d like for the city to incentivize private vehicles run by industry to shift to electric vehicles as well. Lastly, by fully investing in a reliable, responsive CTA and by expanding our bike infrastructure, we can encourage Chicagoans to choose transportation alternatives to cars.

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?

IDOT's plans are clearly behind the times. Our public lakefront is one of Chicago's greatest amenities, both for locals and tourists. At a time when cities around the world are tearing down their highways and reclaiming their lakefronts, it is absolutely the wrong idea to double down on having a loud, dangerous, polluting highway cutting off the city from the lakefront trail and beaches. Not only should we be dedicating lanes to buses to prioritize fast commutes – we should be actively reducing the footprint of LSD and returning to the original spirit of an urban boulevard to allow all to equally access and enjoy the lake. I oppose any development on top of existing green-space and require any future restoration practices include green infrastructure & local ecology best practices. More importantly, we need a vision that protects green space and makes us more climate resilient while increasing our natural habitat.

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?

There are challenges with working with IDOT and their traffic engineering regulations allowed on their streets. The state treats these roads like highways and does not give the city the flexibility to make changes to benefit pedestrians, buses, or bikes. We can’t keep this work siloed within the city of Chicago. I plan to work with the state electeds that represent the 36th Ward, Sen. Omar Aquino and Rep. Lilian Jimenez, to advocate in the state legislature for these investments, as well as with Congresswoman Delia Ramirez and Cook County Commissioner Anthony Joel Quezada to understand what investments can be made at the federal and county level as well. When we work with a comprehensive approach, we can better navigate the red tape and challenges that come with working with IDOT.

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?

I’d advocate for City Council to hold a hearing on this disastrous 99-year parking meter deal, and see if there is a way we can sever the agreement early or make improvements to the agreement that allow for needed changes to our safe street infrastructure.

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?

With the goal of reducing speeding, I would be interested in prioritizing infrastructure adaptations for speed reduction, such as speed humps, curb extensions, raised crosswalks, continuous sidewalks, metal bollards, and concrete-protected bike lanes.

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?

My focus would be on regulating industrial and private vehicles that have an outsized role in polluting our neighborhoods. I support policies that restrict the use of heavy vehicles near residential areas. Additionally, it would be beneficial to create a policy to phase-in electric vehicles used for transporting goods from these industrial areas. Lastly, I would explore dedicated service roads to remove as many heavy vehicles from residential areas.

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

I am open to learning more about this issue, and am interested in expanding fines for obstructing bike lanes as a partial source of this dedicated revenue stream. This fund needs to be expanded to fully move away from aldermanic funding, so that bike and pedestrian safety is no longer at the whim of individual aldermen. We also need to include safety upgrades in regular roadwork, not just by CDOT but other departments too (e.g. Department of Water Management) to be cost-effective.

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

There were several successful pilots of pedestrian-only streets under the Shared Streets program during the onset of the pandemic. I am curious to work with organizations like Better Streets Chicago to hear their input on which streets in my ward could serve as pilots for pedestrian-only streets. However, due to the unique shape of the new 36th Ward, there are few streets outside of Grand Avenue that run continuously through the ward–meaning a project of this nature would require large participation by CDOT and collaboration with other alderpeople in the wards surrounding the 36th.

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

Grand Avenue serves as the 8-mile backbone of the new 36th Ward, and has the most stops of any other bus line in the ward. I would like to explore the possibility of a dedicated bus lane on Grand Avenue through the 36th Ward. This would allow for buses to travel at faster speeds, especially given how wide Grand avenue is in many places. In regards to reliability and schedule, please see my response to question 1.

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 City of Chicago needs to embrace progressive sources of revenue to meet our public transportation deficit and fund other community resources. I support a progressive income tax, corporate head tax, real estate transfer tax on property sales over $1 million, polluter’s Tax, and TIF reform as potential sources of new revenue that do not put undue burden on working families. Additionally, we need the State of Illinois to contribute funds so the expenses don’t solely fall on the City of Chicago.

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

I support, and would be curious to explore the viability of Grand Avenue serving as one of these BRT lines. The 8-mile stretch is the backbone of our ward, and I would be interested in using Grand Ave. as a pilot for other BRT projects. I’d also like to revive and complete the Western Ave BRT that were shelved under the Rahm Emanuel administration. Under a Democratic federal administration, we have an opportunity to seek federal funding for these projects.

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

Yes