Candidate for Chicago City Council

About the Candidate

Name: Justin Kreindler
DOB: July 15, 1980
Family: I am married to Lizzy Kreindler and we have two sons, Thomas (3) and Emmett (1).
Occupation: Nonprofit director
Political Experience: First time candidate, long time organizer and activist. 

  • Consumer rights lobbyist in Springfield for Illinois PIRG
  • Organizer in Cincinnati for MoveOn.org in 2006
  • Founding member of the Future of Choice Board with Planned Parenthood Illinois Action and a consistent volunteer since 2005  
  • Canvass Director for Community Voters Project in Philadelphia’s 60 person office where we registered 55,000 low-income voters in 2008 
  • AFL-CIO’s Ohio Student Voters Rights Protection project where I organized on dozens of campuses around Ohio in 2008. 
  • Field organizer in the 19th Ward for Gery Chico’s 2011 mayoral campaign
  • Field Director for 25th Ward Aldermanic Candidate Cuauhtemoc Morfin in 2011 runoff election

Website: justinfor46.com

Candidate Statement

Hi my name is Justin Kreindler, I’m running for Alderman of the 46th Ward because I love our neighborhood. I’ve been watching the development that our current alderman keeps approving, and I see a lot of ultra luxury condos and micro apartments. I don’t think those kinds of developments alone can sustain our community or any community. We need housing that will allow and encourage us to stick around, mid-market housing, family oriented three bedroom units and some affordable housing. We also need to invest in our neighborhood schools. Chicago doesn’t do anything to convince families to send kids to our neighborhood schools but those schools are funded per student. With some creative investing and thoughtful outreach we can transform our neighborhood schools into the beautiful centers of the community they should be, and do outreach, so people know about the great things happening in our schools. Finally, we need a peaceful community. Half of Chicago doesn’t trust our police enough to call for help, let alone help the police and regardless of how you feel about our police, that is clearly a system failure. I don’t claim to know the exact right solution but there are a handful of cities around the country that utilize non-violent policing tactics which focus on building relationships and restoring trust, and they get amazing results. We could invest in and pilot a half dozen different nonviolent solutions and figure out what works for Chicago. And when we have a peaceful community, housing people can afford to and want to stay in long term, and truly desirable schools, we will convince people to stay in Chicago and stay in our neighborhood. I’m running for alderman to get those things done. I have a proven track record of forging partnerships, building community, and effectively solving challenges across the city. Please visit justin46.com to learn more.

Candidate Q&A

What is your vision for this office?

I believe that our next Alderman needs to do more to convince people to stay in Chicago and to stay in our neighborhood.  We need an Alderman who has the best interest of all of our neighbors at heart. We need someone who will ensure that ultra-luxury condo developments aren’t the only housing to get approval.  We need an Alderman who will forcefully advocate for meaningful reform to our police department and demand the adoption of nonviolent policing tactics, tactics focused on building positive relationships in the community and restoring trust.  Camden, New Jesey and Houston, Texas both have non-violent policing models we could borrow from. We need an Alderman who can bring best practices and fresh ideas to support our neighborhood schools. We need an Alderman with serious backbone who can and will stand up for every resident in our community.  My name is Justin Kreindler and I am running for Alderman because I believe that I am the best person to enact the changes and reforms our community deserves.

What is the most pressing issue facing constituents, and how can you help address it?

The rising cost of housing is a serious threat to our community.  The median rent rose 6% in Uptown (and as much as 20% in some buildings I have visited) and in the East Lakeview portion of our ward the median property assessments rose by 31%.  Our current Alderman’s response to these trends seems to only approve luxury condo and apartment developments which have resulted in further fueling rising rents and skyrocketing property tax valuations for our community.  Historically, Aldermanic Privilege has been misused across much of Chicago to restrict affordable housing units, in order to push out or exclude anyone without a high income from living in a ward. We know our community is strengthened by strong economic diversity.  As Alderman I will use Aldermanic Privilege to ensure that any development of 10 units or more contain a minimum of 20% affordable units and 30% family oriented 3-bedroom units.  I will use Aldermanic Privilege to ensure that housing is built for all income levels instead of only building housing at the high end of the market to relieve some of the upward pressure on rents and home values, making ours a more welcoming and inclusive ward.