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

Chicago’s current transportation challenges are numerous. Among them, two warrant immediate attention. First, crime on the CTA has produced a safety crisis for CTA riders and workers resulting in plummeting ridership to half of their pre-pandemic levels, with fares covering only 18% of operating costs – which portend a solvency crisis especially after COVID/Recovery funds end. To boost confidence and restore ridership, I will repurpose the $100 million CTA devotes to ineffectual private security to bolster and create a full CPD Transit Division that will allow for both uniformed and undercover officers to patrol CTA platforms and trains, and do so with coordinated beat integrity. The public transportation lifeline for workers in the City has become unreliable, unpredictable and unstable. This warrants an immediate operations audit to identify causes as well as staffing, scheduling and technology cures.This should also include an IT audit to identify and cure the interconnectivity and analytics of CTA’s camera security network.

Second, safety in the other multi-modal forms of transportation require immediate attention. There has been a significant rise in crashes since the pandemic and we must focus back on rebooting our Vision Zero Initiatives. I also want to add $10 million to boost biker and pedestrian safety. And in doing so, I will utilize community coalitions that are doing the work to see what is the needs of the people in our 77 neighborhoods.

Finally, there has been much discussion and controversy around the utilization of speed cameras, particularly the lowering of the trigger for speeding in Children’s Safety Zones from 10 mph to 6 mph over the limit. Both the redlight and speed camera regimes of the City have been shown to have used traffic safety as a cover for what is a regressive fine system. In the decision of where to set the speed cam trigger, there has been too little discussion about how we might make our streets safer. One measure would be to assess where lower speed limits would bring about a material improvement in safety, and to then work coordinately with state officials to secure the lower limit. For example, if data reflected that lowering a 20 mph zone to 15 mph would bring about a material improvement in traffic and pedestrian safety – in a Children’s Safety Zone for example – implementing it would yield a prevailing safer q5 mph speed limit, with a 10 mph over the limit trigger of 25 mph. That approach would provide a notice and fine system that was more consistent, and thus fairer, while producing a safer prevailing street condition.

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 utilize a combination of transit around the city. My primary modes of traversing the city sidewalks, public transportation and driving. The mix of modalities are not ideal for me, and I believe less so for workday commuters to and from a city that ranks at the bottom for vehicular congestion and public transportation safety reliability. Combined they extend travel times and exacerbate pollution. I would prefer for myself and family a system that promotes a greater use of public and other multi-modal forms of transportation both within the city and between the city and surrounding suburbsAs mayor I will pursue and use all forms of federal grants to expand and integrate the full array of multi-modal transportation options for the region and seek broader and deeper collaboration with regional transportation agencies, and do so with full consideration and prioritization of environmental and accessibility imperatives.

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

I remember catching the CTA and having workers tell me that they do not feel safe in their conditions and telling me the stories they see being on the transit every day. These stories made me realize that more had to be done for Chicagoans to even be able to utilize the transit, more has to be done so people feel like they can get on the transit and visit downtown and other parts of the city. That is why I knew we had to do something about security on our transit, like moving the $100 million in private security contracts to the CPD to actually have a full CTA division of the CPD.

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?

Universalized city-wide sidewalk snow/ice clearance must be a component of contemporizing our transportation system. You can’t take public transportation if you can’t get to it safely. If you have accessibility challenges sidewalk snow/ice can make you a prisoner in your own home. I will work to find solutions tailored to local needs and also draw upon the infrastructure created by Special Service Areas (SSAs) authorized by city government, to be a major contributing partner in the effort.

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 cynical decisions to use highways to divide us have been a force amplifier to the inequities of multi-generational disinvestment and the implicit biases of institutions built on an edifice of division and segregation. To overcome these physical, economic and institutional barriers requires intra- and inter-community solutions. The intra-community solution means to aggressively prioritize asset-based community development within these historically segregated communities through an independent Community Development Authority that assures public and private community economic development investments reflect local community prioritizes, maximizes the use of business and workers from within the community to be developed, fosters remediation and restoration of blighted, including environmentally blighted areas and utilizes, in coordination with City Hall, appropriate tax abatements and a municipal bank from which the financial benefits of first generation development is recycled into the community for second and third generation development and support of small commercial business and residential mortgage loans below prevailing private market rates. Consideration should be given to the optimization of Transit-Oriented Development that additionally makes these burgeoning community economic and service corridors accessible to Chicagoans from across the city. The Inter-community solution involves work to fully develop multi-modal transportation connects between neighborhoods. We will work with the CTA to create routes that connect communities by creating routes that bring isolated neighborhoods into the transportation slipstream of the whole city. We will work to fast-track a cynically plodding implementation of a citywide cycling network of roads and dedicated safe bike lanes. By establishing clear and concise routes with reliable frequency we can connect these communities and create a more collaborative Chicago.

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

There is a significant decrease in ridership that is still apparent even after the pandemic, this decrease is directly related to the fact that people do not feel safe on public transit, This decrease has a direct effect on the greenhouse gas emissions in Chicago, individuals have decided to either drive use private vehicular transportation like Uber/Lyft. These emissions especially impact neighborhoods that are adjacent to the highways and main thoroughfares. Unfortunately these communities tend to be the most financially vulnerable and home to more people of color. This is no more so than in neighborhoods in industrial corridors. Current permit analysis for new or expanded heavy industrial and commercial businesses fail to be based on rigorous cumulative impact analysis, resulting in the perpetual addition of new transit pollution sources to neighborhoods literally suffering under the yoke of regulatorily authorized environmental injustices. To truly be a world class city we must reconsider our current strategy and policy on public transit. Considering not only how mass transit impacts our communities we must also evaluate walkable and bikeable routes and their importance in minimizing Chicago’s carbon footprint and to base heavy industry and commercial permitting reviews on universal cumulative impact analysis and standards.

Additionally, the City fails to meaningfully enforce restrictions on idling heavy vehicles, and that applies to city vehicles. Consideration should be given to installation of an automatic shutoff switch for all carbon-based fuel vehicles that idle for more than a few minutes and pending such a self-regulating system, monitor such city vehicles so that City drivers can be held to account for violating applicable ordinances.

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?

While the transitway will undoubtedly alleviate some delays in the north-bound CTA bus network, one of the fundamental concerns is that it is a loud highway right next to Chicago’s premier natural public asset, the lake and lakefront parks, rendering it less accessible and more environmentally hostile from a noise and air pollution perspective. The design settled on must be implemented to reduce speed and increase safety, including for cyclists and pedestrians. The current design speed and speed enforcement of NSDLSD far exceeds its boulevard origins. And history has shown that design speed impacts actual speed as opposed to speed limits. Consideration of transit alternatives , such as a BRT system along the lakefront (utilizing electric buses), is the only way to address the number of vehicles, regulate congestion. The bike infrastructure along NDSLSD is excellent, but we need more safe feeder networks along the lakefront to improve access. With these feeders, the lakefront trail could become a bicycle super highway, a concept that has been shown to reduce car congestion around the world drastically.

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?

IDOT, in a lot of their material, focuses on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and the number of accidents. However, these metrics need to be more complex. The VMT metric does not adequately account for induced demand and other modes of transportation. Moreover, IDOT restricts minimum speed and design (such as wide turns) on streets within the city. These restrictions effectively restrict traffic-calming measures the city can implement to serve its residents. Such restrictions should be relinquished from IDOT to mayoral/aldermanic offices as these offices have much better insight into community road needs. Furthermore, installing traffic monitoring, such red-light/speed cameras on IDOT-managed streets, should be easy upon request of the mayor or alderperson in the ward. All of this begins with a collaborative ethos and a public administration philosophy that emphasizes holistic systems solutions integrated with overlapping government jurisdictional agencies.

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?

So much has changed in our city since this deal was originally conceived and it is not supporting where Chicago is today. Safety across all city offices is a priority whether on or off the road. With the advent of Amazon, food delivery services, Uber and Lyft as well as bike lanes we must review and have the ability to alter street space allocation to suit the changing dynamics of our city. I will ask CDOT for a review of the contract and safety implications of the Parking Contract and ask for recommendations for appropriate changes to allow for the installation of more bike lanes, bump outs and other safety improvements.

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 mayor I will restore the CPD to full staff by recruiting and bringing back the 1,300 officers lost once Rahm Emanuel left office. By filling these vacancies we are able to bring back beat integrity, ensuring that we have officers in the communities regularly patrolling streets. We will ensure that these officers are paying attention to key intersections, creating a deterrent to risky driving behaviors. Additionally, we should, working with state and federal transportation authorities, examine programs to incentivize the installation of emerging vehicular safety technology that blocks cellphone texting features when a vehicle is moving faster than a 10-15 mph.

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 as we develop ordinances that we are not creating something that hinders the people of Chicago and the growth of our great city. I will work with the city council and local advocacy groups and coalitions to create ordinances that make sense and serve to create safer passage for Chicagoans. My administration will make clear and concise changes that are realistic and beneficial to the growth of Chicago and its residents. That said, consideration should be given to exploration of the integration of the City Clerk’s City sticker and ILSOS/IDORIEPA vehicle registration/sales and environmental inspection systems to determine whether a graded fee surcharge system might align size, weight, safety (and noise) impacts of certain classes of vehicles with tier impact on infrastructure and environment . Additionally, we should, working with state and federal transportation authorities, examine programs to incentivize the installation of emerging vehicular safety technology that blocks cellphone texting features when a vehicle is moving faster than 10-15 mph.

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

The mayor’s office oversees a total of $28 billion dollars in capital spending between the City Corporate Budget and all of the Chicago sister agencies (CPS, CHA, CTA, CDOT, etc.). I will utilize the budgets of our city as investment vehicles so we are not only able to make necessary changes immediately to our city infrastructure as well engage in long term planning that makes it safer not only for pedestrians and cyclists but for anyone traversing our beautiful city.

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

I will work with advocate organizations and the business community to assess opportunities to create pedestrian-only streets. The Saturday market on Division and sheds for restaurants have demonstrated that creative street activities can increase business activity and still allow mobility.

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

We must first make our public transit system safe and then work with the agencies to identify ways to attract ridership back. We must then identify ways to attract ridership back by reviewing the changes in travel demand since the onset of COVID. To address reliability and other service issues, we should bring on line a user app that permits the crowdsourcing of information about service and schedule compliance and resulting data should be the subject of recurring short cycle pattern and trend analysis that is made public, along with the underlying data for advocates and the public to use.

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?

We must review operations costs and consider the changing needs of riders and find opportunities to improve regional travel. We must look at this as an opportunity to change service to better meet regional demand.

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

I think we need a long-term strategic plan for transportation that includes implementation of Bus Rapid Transit. I’ve articulated earlier thoughts about how to improve transportation services.When BRT is done right, you increase ridership and when you increase ridership, you increase revenue. At one time, twice as many people took the bus and rode the trains, now is not the case but BRT may be a way to begin to reverse that.

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

Yes