2023 Chicago Election Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

I'm running for 6th Ward Alderman because I have a plan to stabilize our community and the unmatched policy expertise to resurrect the 6th Ward as a shining example of middle-class greatness. Our community's residents deserve so much more in investment and resources than we've been getting and we need competent leadership to bring our ward back. I have been preparing for this role my entire educational and work life through my Political Science degree, law degree, work as Legislative Director and Public Policy Attorney and extensive experience writing, analyzing and negotiating bipartisan policies and laws.

My experience in fielding constituent issues is also best suited to handle the many demands of an Aldermanic Constituent Office. I have held the largest listening tour as the Host of the WVON1690AM Afternoon Drive Show, hearing the cries of my community and using activism to demand fairness for our ward while finding solutions to promote ward growth. I know how to stand with my residents, fight for my residents and make our Ward's needs a priority one again in this City.

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

The 6th Ward has a legacy of fostering a strong Black middle-class, proud property and business owners, and residents from every industry living together; police, city workers, teachers, tradesmen and women, firefighters, doctors and lawyers. However, Black CPS teachers have fallen from 80% to 20%, we cannot receive an accurate account of how many Black Firefighters or police there are but we know it is incredibly low, the percentage of city contracts and city workers is far lower than the proportion of Black residents (with the City falsely thinking an increase in "minority contracts and workers" equals investment in BLACK communities.

Our menu dollars must also reflect that we may need more infrastructure than other wards. Our residents deserve an Alderman to push for our Ward services and amenities to reflect the tax dollars we contribute. Most of our schools are failing and as Alderman it is my responsibility to 1) Not only know the status of our schools, but also 2) Demand answers about why our children are not being taught what they need to succeed, and 3) Get our schools the dollars, professionals and curricula they need to succeed.

We have a tradition of strong local businesses, but are we giving them and budding entrepreneurs what they need to succeed? Let's bring home the business grants, create chambers of commerce so they can grow together, let's improve the look and safety of the corridors, let's plan the business corridors so the businesses we solicit complement each other and appeal to our residents, and let's incentivize both ward residents owning businesses and business owners hiring ward residents.

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

Our residents are living in a Ward that is chaotic with no real plan for sustaining life, promoting a healthy community, retaining residents, educating children or maintaining safe and clean conditions. Any and everything can happen in our ward including unanswered crime, a proliferation of fast food without any corresponding grocery stores (we only have one grocery store), and just a lack of accessible amenities for our community members. For the first time ever, I will commission a true plan to be developed for my Ward.

With the expertise of a trained Urban Planner and the consultation of our community's residents -who know what we want and need- we will look at our Ward realistically, compiling what assets we have and deficits we need to overcome and assess what and how many businesses, senior and youth community centers, grocery stores, trade schools and other amenities are necessary to sustain a high quality of life in our ward. We will decide where they should be placed, how many schools we need to improve education and to attract more families to stay and come back.

A strong plan with more amenities and more resources will lead to less crime and more investment and stabilizing our community.

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

We will have friendly, responsive staff ready to answer the calls and visits of constituents within 24 hours of contact. We will ensure our ward office staff is knowledgeable and able to maximize departmental response as well as interface with the Mayor's Office to get services. We will ask residents to contact us so we know we can track 311 service calls for status. We will have regular community meetings and written communications to let everyone know what I am doing in City Council and how to impact and suggest strong public policies.

We need constituent nights and regular ward meetings, as well as boards made up of constituent groups such as seniors, youth, parents, homeowners, etc. to discuss needs and to have open lines of communication.

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

I believe the Alderman is elected because she knows her ward better than the Mayor's Office, has the best vision for the ward and the expertise to get the job done with the advice of the Ward residents. Laws have been violated by unethical politicians pretending to be public servants, but that is no reason to completely change aldermanic prerogative, just as you don't change laws or the constitution just because some criminals decide to violate them. What you do is elect ethical leaders to fulfill their responsibilities correctly.

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

We have a huge police budget but by all accounts people in Chicago are not in effect any safer. We must figure out how to support public safety and our officers, while also understanding they are there to react to crime and their presence will hopefully deter criminals but ultimately they do not prevent crime.

We need to use every tool we have to figure out what is needed to run an effective CPD that solves crimes in ALL communities, keeps residents safe in ALL communities, recruits from ALL communities, trains officers to be efficient and effective, and then also make sure budgets are ample for mental health clinics to reopen, social workers to be staffed, youth to have free supervised activities and year-round employment and all those things that are crime-preventive measures.

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

I have been actively involved in Bring Chicago Home. If our City will not use COVID-19 dollars or find the dollars elsewhere in the budget (which I believe the City can find the money) then we must find a plan to house homeless Chicagoans with the same veracity as we are struggling to find a way to house new migrants. A solution must be found for this dire situation.

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

I am a Treatment Not Trauma worker, having walked all summer, knocking doors and talking directly to 6th Ward residents about reopening the mental health clinics and using mental health professionals to address mental health crises if a police response is not warranted. Yes, reopen the clinics so people can get the healthcare and medication they are seeking to stabilize. We see far fewer incidents resulting from mental health breaks.

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

First, the City should honor the CHA Housing vouchers and reduce the backlog of residents waiting upwards of 10-20 years. Next, the City just released vacant lots in most communities around the City for close to FMV. These are lots that can be used to build those homes through partnerships with local developers.

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

The real question is: when is the City going to get serious about crime happening in our Black wards and flood them with the resources necessary for long-term stabilization, as well as true detective work to find the killers and other criminals who prey on our vulnerable young men, women, girls and elders without consequence?

First, crimes must be solved in Black communities. If you continue to allow criminals to operate without any accountability in one neighborhood, not only will you destroy that neighborhood, the issue will spread like a cancer just as it is skating in Chicago right now. Criminals have been allowed to live amongst law abiding citizens in Black neighborhoods for too long. Our poorly-resourced, dimly-lit, boarded up buildings, failing schools and stressed-out wards create perfect conditions for all kinds of crime. We have never received the investment we deserve. We have also never received the proper law enforcement response. It takes longer for officers to respond to crimes in our 3rd Police District than any other district in the City.

We can rebuild this ward with resources and fair and equitable policing.

Should the CTA reopen the Green Line train station at Racine?

As someone who has worked in transportation, I want more convenient options for everyone. If a study confirms this stop will help the residents and the residents wish it to happen AND we have the funding, let's reopen the station.

What should replace the shuttered Whole Foods grocery store?

In a community that is hurting for diverse business and service options, lots of businesses should replace that grocery store, but because this is one of many food deserts in Chicago's Black communities, another grocery store is definitely needed. However, we cannot continue to have stores come into neighborhoods, get subsidies then quit the neighborhood once the money runs out only to reopen in a more "desirable" location. That is not a sustainable plan. The City can help ensure stores stop engaging in piracy. All communities need grocery stores.