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

Chicago’s transportation challenges center around the inefficiencies of the CTA: workers are overworked and understaffed, ridership is low, and trains and buses are not frequent enough to be a reliable means of transit in a car-centric city.

One of my campaign’s focuses is to fight for universal/expanded public transit and protected bike lanes throughout the ward to encourage safe transportation that is not solely reliant on carbon-emitting vehicles. I believe in universal public transit, making our CTA free to ride, looking at Alexandria, VA, Kansas City, MO, and Washington, DC as municipalities who have recently made bus rides free.

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 use a combination of all those modes of transportation. The barriers to ideal transit that we face include a lack of bike lanes in the 30th ward, limited public transit on the west side of the ward, and movement across the city means either long, slow CTA rides or significant amounts of driving time.

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

I was diagnosed with epilepsy in my early twenties, and this affects my ability to drive. I rely on my bike, walking, and the CTA to get around the city, just as many Chicagoans also do. This experience has shaped my politics on both free, accessible public transit for the masses and Medicare for All.

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 support municipal snow removal to #PlowTheSidewalks!

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?

I’m a community organizer, and my intentions both prior to running for office and now in the thick of the campaign, have always been to continue building a rainbow coalition of working class folks. We cannot further segregate by fighting each other for crumbs. Chicagoans must unite to improve quality of life for all, ensuring food, shelter, education, healthcare, and transit for all.

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

Car-centric transportation has detrimental effects on our health and the environment. The east side of the 30th ward is along the expressway, and carbon-emitting vehicles are polluting the air we breathe. The public transit on the west side of the ward is limited to buses and a few Metra stops. We must expand public transit in these parts of the city and potentially create bus-only lanes to make public transit more efficient, accessible, cleaner, and greener.

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?

I remain uncertain about IDOT’s LSD design proposals and would like to hear more about what Chicagoans at large are favoring. I’m in favor of a more park-like, less expressway design to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety and access to the lakefront while still connecting the north and south sides of the city.

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?

Oftentimes, it seems the barriers for safe streets and transit investment involve funding and political will. I’m an organizer and intent to work with allies in office at all levels of government and mobilize alongside coalitions to make change happen. Transit investment is an issue of working class folks’ mobility, safety, and air quality and must be prioritized.

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?

Aside from putting city-owned parking lots to better use to free up streets, I would like to learn more about what is possible in the face of this terrible contract.

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?

There have been many pedestrian and cyclist deaths caused by vehicles on the Northwest side. To prevent these tragedies, I will fight for a protected bike lane network in the 30th ward to share the street and slow down traffic. I would also explore the construction of raised crosswalks to further protect pedestrians.

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?

These ordinances are something I would need to look into further prior to establishing my position.

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

I would support this. The city needs progressive revenue streams to fund improvements on the quality of life for Chicagoans, and this absolutely includes transit.

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

I would support pedestrian-only streets.

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

-Construct more bus-only lanes

-Strategically decrease bus stops so rides move faster

-Make public transportation free, so ridership will increase, and thus, improve safety with more presence on CTA, as well as make the case to lobby for more access to state and federal dollars to further invest in the CTA

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 has to explore raising revenue without taxing working class people to ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share and that our social services and public resources, like public transit, are fully funded.

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

I would support a network of Bus Rapid Transit lines in Chicago.

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

Yes