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

Most notably, increasing the safety and reliability of CTA is one of the most pressing matters to address. Chicago has the third largest transit system in the United States and it is crucial for Chicagoans to get to their jobs, school, and other day-to-day necessities. Since the ongoing pandemic, the CTA has drastically experienced a significantly reduced ridership, reliability, and safety. To address this, I understand that we need to ensure CTA is fully staffed to ensure trains and buses can run at a frequent, consistent, and reliable schedule thus we must ensure CTA workers have safe and supportive working environments to equipt our workforce. I support bringing on unarmed CTA conductors/ambassadors to frequent the train carts and platform to de-escalate non-violent situations. To increase bus ridership I support establishing dedicated bus lanes to decrease commute times, especially in high-traffic areas, and make riding the bus more appealing to commuters.  

In my ward specifically, access to public transportation is an issue I am committed to addressing. The Far Southeast side is often forgotten and disconnected from other Chicago neighborhoods, the extension of the Red Line will allow communities like Altgeld Gardens which only have one bus service to have access to the rest of the city. The construction of this infrastructure is not set to begin until 2025 but, in the meantime, we must find solutions to support these residents now, Altgeld Gardens only has one bus, no grocery store, and over an hour of public transit commute to access aldermanic services. To address this I would advocate for city funding to go towards van pools and rideshare programs to ensure the residents of the ward have mobility and access to essential goods and services. 

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?

Yes, I and my family walk to places and take public transit on occasion but not as much as we would like, the most direct mode of transportation downtown is the South Shore line, our community would benefit from an expansion of the CTA line and bus routes. We live in the Far Southeast side of Chicago where public transit is not as reliable and commute times take longer than for most areas of the city. Some bus stops in the ward are near viaducts that don't have proper lighting or walk pathways making it inconvenient to be using public transportation. We do not have walkable communities in the 10th Ward, it is difficult to get from one neighborhood to another especially for communities like Hegewisch and Altgeld Gardens that are a part of the ward. Grocery stores, doctors office and other essential services are not all within a reasonable commute time making it difficult to rely on public transportation to get there. The heavy industrial presence also makes it unsafe to walk and bike in certain areas of the neighborhood due to truck traffic and lack of sidewalk infrastructure.

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

As someone who attended Chicago Public Schools, the CTA became a routine. During my time traveling from home to high school and vice versa, I would see my friend Miguel walk to and from school because he could not afford to take the bus every day. Instead, he would walk on the grass or next to the road on Avenue O where diesel trucks and other cars drove by. For a large portion of the street between the George Washington High school and Hegewisch, there is no sidewalk which made walking home difficult. Students should be able to access public transportation for free and our city needs to invest the necessary resources to make sure pedestrians are safe and feel safe when they are on their commute.

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 supportive of universal sidewalk snow/ice removal. It is necessary to serve the needs of non-car drivers, sidewalks are public property and snow removal should be a municipal service. In the 10th ward, there is a lot of vacant lots in which no one removes ice from the sidewalk and poses a threat to well being of the surrounding neighbors, this is imperative to address. In communities throughout the ward some people require sidewalks and public transportation to get from one community to another. Not having access to them impedes them from accessing necessary services. During the snowstorm this past December, our campaign organized a mutual aid snow shoveling group to support elderly neighbors, single mothers, and people with disabilities, we understand the need to ensure our neighbors have mobility and access to sidewalks.

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?

There are two components here, the need to build communities and expand public transportation. We must be innovative to create new community spaces that are resident, commercial, and open spaces for a community’s benefit. There have been suggested ideas of tearing down viaducts to create boulevards, and leveling of freeways to create spaces underneath them. There is vast potential to take advantage of utilizing the federal sweeping infrastructure plan. In regards to accessibility we must reconnect our segregated neighborhoods we must expand access to our public transportation to connect them to other parts of the city and connects other parts of the city to those neighborhoods. Many communities that have been divided by these interstate highways are transit deserts. 

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

Transportation justice is environmental justice. Investing in adequate infrastructure and public transportation is a dire part of reducing the reliability of cars which are major contributors to fossil fuel emissions and can improve the air quality and quality of life of residents in environmentally burdened communities. There is an opportunity for the city to transition its buses to fully electric vehicles and phase out diesel emissions from CTA buses completely. 

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?

We must create focus on reducing emissions and improving user rating of public transit. In order to address our climate crisis and create better transit systems, I am in support of the “Exchange” model thus addressing congestion, and incentivizing rapid public transport, however, it could be designed to make cyclists and pedestrians safer. We need to create the opportunity for alternative transportation choices; bike lanes, and bus terminals in between transit, and lower the number of vehicle lanes; thus further incentivizing a public transit experience.

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?

Recently there has been an agreement reached between IDOT, and CDOT, and we seek to be in communication with Active Transportation Alliance to learn how to ensure public input and funding are advocated for. The challenge that had been presented was with unaligned standards, IDOT and CDOT were in conflict, as to IDOT own a lot of roadways in Chicago, yet are maintained by CDOT, and with different standards in regards to truck traffic versus pedestrian safety.

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?

It is important to solve private ownership of public spaces/resources since these deals have been payday loans, and taxpayers are suffering the cost of poor transportation. There are various approaches to consider that will utilize design and policy to unlock the keys to better transit in Chicago by working around or by removing the contract. In a renegotiation, we can shift meter parking from main streets to side streets and/or local parking lots. This wouldn’t directly solve the issue. I believe it would be a long term benefit to be able to payout the contract as it has collected over $2 billion in profit with the remaining 61 years left. There have been law/auditors who stated that would join in support of this lawsuit as well.

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?

In order to holistically address distracted driving and increase pedestrian safety we need to take a multitude of measures that include adding speed humps, speed tables, and traffic calming projects with community and council input in areas where there has been a high number of reported accidents, traffic signal upgrades to give more time for pedestrians to walk in high pedestrian traffic areas, investing the necessary funds to create protected bike lanes with priority investment in areas that have a high record of injuries.

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?

Regulation of vehicles could be a high cost for low-income communities, we must ensure that public transportation is reliable and safe for everyone in the City of Chicago before regulations are made on vehicles, even with the intention of addressing the climate crisis, we must make it affordable and not a penalty.

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

I am supportive of establishing a dedicated funding stream for dedicated, safe, and universal pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Chicago. I believe it is important to fund infrastructure and transportation projects that reduce our dependency on fossil fuel vehicles to improve our quality of air and combat climate change. It is necessary to invest in protected bike lanes to keep cyclists safe and infrastructure that does not overlook the needs of pedestrians, these investments are long overdue. A walkable community is a healthy community.

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

I am supportive of having pedestrian-only streets, it would increase walkability and the presence of people making our streets safer to walk on. Pedestrian only streets would allow for people to gather, children to play, and it would increase foot traffic to nearby businesses which would strengthen our local economies. Creating pedestrian only streets will also allow us to beautify these spaces in ways that are currently not possible due to car infrastructure, and would allow us to more effectively plan for ways to maximize our use.

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

First and foremost is addressing the staffing issue of transit workers, we must ensure that CTA workers have fair wages, benefits, mental health services, and adequate trainings to ensure CTA has the necessary workforce to allow trains and buses to run on schedule and at full capacity like that of pre covid. In addition, investing resources to establish dedicated bus lanes especially in high ridership corridors tol reduce commute times which will encourage ridership.

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?

According to the Transit is Better report that was released by the RTA none of the analyzed revenue options would address the tax cliff completely and would require additional federal assistance to ensure transit operations. Ideally, I support the revenue source that has least amount of impact on working class people that rely on public transportation. I would support increasing the state public transportation fund match and expanding the real estate transfer tax from the city of Chicago to the RTA service area to help reduce the $700 million deficit.

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

I am supportive of establishing a network of Bus Rapid Transit Lines, these bus lanes will help reduce commute times for riders and will allow buses to become a more attractive and reliable mode of transportation that will increase ridership, reduce carbon emissions, and will help increase safety.

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

Yes.