2023 Chicago Runoff Election Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

First and foremost, this is my neighborhood. I was born and raised in Humboldt Park. My children grew up going to the parks in the neighborhood, swimming in the pools, participating in athletics, and accessing everything in the neighborhood for the last 22 years. My husband and I made a home here with our children and I’ve been honored to serve as a CPS teacher for 23 years. That experience as an educator working with students, parents, administrators, union officials, and city representatives as a leader in public education has more than adequately prepared me for the fights to come at City Hall.

I am running so that working parents, educators, homeowners, renters, and the ignored have a seat at policy and decision-making tables. I am running to disrupt the status-quo “good ol' boy” network that uses public funds for personal gains and corporate donors. I want to establish a functional public service office that delivers high-quality public service to all, brings all the stakeholders to the table, listens to all voices, informs the residents of resources to improve their quality of life, and increases civic participation.

What does this office do well, and what needs fixing?

Talking to voters, I’ve heard too many stories of disability parking permits backlogged for years, trash cans never delivered, and calls never answered. There is an overwhelming feeling that if you are not high up on the incumbent’s priority list, you may not get what you need and deserve. The reality is we are woefully short on what a vision for services looks like for all in the 36th ward and this new map poses a challenge we must face.

The present Alderman was too busy with a failed attempt for higher office to meaningfully engage in the remap process and our community drew the short stick. This new map and its unique shape necessitate a leader who has the relationships needed to serve our community best through co-governance with our residents and collaboration with other offices. The geography alone means there are now eight miles of constituents that will be inconvenienced or have to work harder to get what they need unless we center constituent accessibility, not favors for the few. When elected Alderperson, I will bring multiple accessible constituent service offices throughout the ward to ensure we make it as convenient to serve residents.

What is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?

The main issue I’ve heard on doors when speaking to voters is public safety. My experiences in the classroom over the last two decades and witnessing the trauma our city’s youth and families face inform my outlook on approaches to crime and violence prevention. I want City Hall to take on a coordinated response to crime by having police, educators, mental health practitioners, and case management that are empowered and trained to do their best job.

Chronic disinvestment means that we routinely have police officers handling situations that would be best served by case managers and mental health practitioners. This in turn makes it harder for police to do their job responding to the episodes they are uniquely able to serve in as officers. As a public school teacher, I know what it’s like to be asked to go above and beyond my job description, and I know when help and support are needed. When elected, I will fight for the entire crime prevention safety net — organizations, schools, mental health providers, community-based approaches — to receive the funding for essential care management and services that help prevent crime and address the root causes of crime in housing and economic insecurity.

What specific steps would you take to ensure your office is accessible and responsive to your constituents?

I want to make sure that my 36th Ward office is welcoming and invites people into community decision-making. I am committed to hiring bilingual staff, both in Spanish and Ukrainian, to make sure that residents can communicate with us in their preferred language. I’m also committed to bringing transparent and democratic processes to our ward, through participatory budgeting and community-driven zoning. When there is a significant decision to make, my office will make it out in the open with public input, and not behind closed doors. Lastly, I’m committed to hosting weekly Ward Nights in both ends of the ward to make sure that residents have an opportunity to share their feedback and receive support accessing constituent services.

Do you believe in the tradition of aldermanic prerogative, which gives each City Council member the final say on issues in their ward?

The processes I mentioned regarding participatory budgeting and community-driven zoning are meant to share decision-making among residents. If Chicagoans’ tax dollars are used to provide city services, they deserve to decide how aldermanic menu money is spent. If a development will impact the landscape and character of a neighborhood (for good or for bad), residents deserve to provide input and voice what they want development to look like in the ward.

Aldermanic prerogative is an issue that requires continued debate and input, and I am open to reforming it in ways that will help us create more equitable zoning policies. I am concerned about ways the policy has been used to hinder the development of affordable housing but I also acknowledge that this policy has also led to affordable housing being developed in areas because aldermen like John Arena and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa chose to make it a priority in their wards.

Should the $1.9 billion budget for the Chicago Police Department increase, stay the same or decrease?

We reduce the conversation about policing by talking about slogans. I want the police budget to be used appropriately and utilized for maximum benefit. When I teach in the classroom my pedagogy is expected to be evidence-based, meaning I’ve researched and made sure that my methods are proven to be effective and are worth the time and resources I spend bringing them to my students. I expect the same rigor of evidence-based practices and accountability from CPD and all city departments.

What I want to make sure is that the money we spend on policing is well-spent and has the results to show for it. There are certain contracts, such as the Shot Spotter contract, that are using millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars on surveillance technology, without a proven track record to demonstrate those funds were well spent. I want to see the murder clearance rate improved and response times lowered, and I’m committed to working with public safety and policing experts on how to do so.

Should the city raise the Real Estate Transfer Tax on properties sold for more than $1 million to fund programs to help unhoused Chicagoans? 

Yes, undoubtedly. I am in full support of the Bring Chicago Home ordinance and would be a champion of it once elected. There are more than 65,000 homeless people in Chicago — a little more than the average population of a Chicago ward, which is why housing advocates have started calling this population “the 51st Ward." Bring Chicago Home will make sure that we create housing for those who desperately need it, while making the wealthy pay their fair share to fund our communities. I believe in a “housing first” approach, which understands that when people are provided housing they often have a greater likelihood of securing employment, relief from addiction, and stability for their families.

Should the city open and operate mental health clinics to provide free care to Chicagoans?

The city should reopen the mental health clinics that it shuttered in 2012. Just as we are still facing a global pandemic, we are also facing a mental health epidemic. As a teacher, I know that our young people are facing the brunt of this crisis, and they need the highest quality of care.

Additionally, I fully support the Treatment Not Trauma ordinance, which would use these re-opened mental health clinics as dispatch hubs for a mental health response team that would respond to mental health crisis 911 calls instead of police. This model has been tested in a local pilot with promising results, and practiced in other cities with success. Not only would this response team connect those in crisis to critical social services and treatment, but it would also free up police officers to respond to 911 calls for violent crime, decreasing long response times.

How should Chicago build the 120,000 homes it needs for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans?

Our city budget is a moral document. The priorities we set with our funds are the commitments we make to our communities. We must allocate revenue sources in the City Budget (such as a real estate transfer tax as outlined in Bring Chicago Home) to build, repair, and maintain affordable housing. I would also like to see the percentage of affordable units required under the Affordable Requirements Ordinance increase, so that new, large developments create opportunities for affordability rather than inadvertently displacing residents. Within my own ward, I will work with neighbors, landlords, developers, and other stakeholders to make sure our zoning process is transparent and democratic, seeking out opportunities to incentivize the growth of affordable housing in our ward.

What do you see as potential solutions to address the number of shootings in Chicago?

I support the calls to create an Office on Gun Violence Prevention so that we have city resources directly invested in stemming the tide of gun violence in our city. My heart breaks anytime I see news of yet another mass shooting across the country, and yet I also know that these mass shootings are all too frequent in our own neighborhoods.

Again, I am committed to identifying evidence-based solutions to ending violence. In the 36th Ward and its surrounding neighborhoods, there are numerous active violence disruption programs with outreach peacekeepers. These peacekeepers are credible messengers in their community, and build relationships with young people most likely to be impacted by violence, and to commit violence themselves. They actively intervene when conflicts happen, and host mediations between rival gangs when conflicts are running hot. Most notably, the communities that these peacekeepers serve saw a decrease in the number of gun homicides, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address the gun violence epidemic, we need to make sure we’re preventing violence before it even takes place, rather than responding after the fact.