2023 Chicago Election Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

I am running because we need a change in leadership in the 45th ward. We must do more to attract businesses and create jobs while improving safety in our communities, the quality of our schools, and access to the services received from elected officials. As a small-business owner in the community, active in my daughters local public elementary school, and an organizer in the community who has advocated for greater transparency and input, I am running because this ward needs a leader with a professional temperament and demonstrated history of working with others to solve problems while ensuring our neighborhoods thrive.

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

I hear daily that residents are concerned with public safety, a lack of economic development, and an absence of community engagement and transparency in local development decisions. Our business corridors are littered with empty storefronts. Our main thoroughfares have featured vacant lots for more than a decade. We can and must do much more to attract businesses and create jobs while improving safety in our communities, the quality of our schools, and access to city services.

The current alderman has created contentious relationships with developers, businesses, and the community. The delivery of city services has been politicized. News stories featuring our ward are often embarrassing and demonstrate our current alderman has not remained focused on community concern.

We need a change in leadership in our ward because residents should be confident they will receive the quality services they deserve.

As a small business owner, and the victim of a recent attempted armed robbery at my business, I can relate to the struggles with operating and growing a small business in the community, as well as concerns about increased crime. I will use my experience as a small business owner to work directly with our chambers of commerce and businesses to make the process of opening a business in the 45th ward as frictionless as possible.

On public safety, I will work with city agencies, neighbors, and all local stakeholders to build positive relationships and deliver the resources that make for safer and stronger communities. I will implement more transparent processes to engage the community on major decisions. And everyone will have fair and equitable access to city services, regardless of whether we have at times disagreed on individual decisions.

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

The two issues I hear most about from residents are public safety and economic development, which go hand-in-hand. On most of the major arterial streets in the ward, you’ll find long vacant storefronts or demolished buildings with no plan in the works for future development. Without foot traffic, it’s difficult for small businesses to survive, and certain types of crime increase when streets are dark and sparsely populated. Likewise, when crime is up in the ward, as it has been the past few years, people stay home and our businesses suffer.

I will work with our local chambers of commerce and neighborhood organizations to promote thoughtful economic development to create a climate that attracts new businesses to the area which fits with the needs and character of our communities. I will work with public safety officials, city agencies, neighbors, and all local stakeholders to build relationships, collaborate and deliver the resources that make for safer and stronger communities.

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

The very first thing I would do to restore accessibility is bring back Ward Nights where constituents can bring issues to the office at a standing open appointment on a weekly basis.

I would bring my project management, technical support and customer service experience to implement an issue tracking system in the ward office to ensure that responsiveness is prioritized and issues receive continued follow-through until resolution.

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

It’s complicated. Aldermanic prerogative can be employed positively, to better the community, but I’ve also personally witnessed occasions where it has been abused to stop or stall projects for political reasons, when they would be beneficial to the community and local economy.

I think aldermanic input should be considered, along with many other factors such as public support, and benefit to the community and city, but that privilege should not be the nearly unbeatable trump card it is today.

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

Our public safety infrastructure needs to be fully funded, which is inclusive of our police force but also mental health and substance abuse services, as well other public initiatives that address the root causes of crime. I support data driven approaches to any changes in our police budget, just as I would with every department or agency.

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 support the Bring Chicago Home initiative. I support a nominal one-time tax that could also be structured into a 30-year mortgage resulting in a negligible monthly increase that would have a significant impact on our most vulnerable population.

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

Yes. In 2012, Mayor Emanuel slashed mental health facilities by half. In 2019, Lori Lightfoot campaigned on reopening the closed clinics, but has failed to do so.

This city and state have faced decades of disinvestment in social services, mental health centers, violence prevention programs, and public schools which have created the social condition that increases crime in our communities. To build safer communities, we need a comprehensive approach to public safety that includes addressing the root causes that increase crime, which includes significantly increasing access to mental health facilities and professionals.

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

Over the past two years,  City Council has passed new ordinances which raise the minimum number of affordable units in new developments and which allow the creation of additional dwelling units by homeowners needing extra income, or those who wish to create separate spaces for multi-generational families, including coach houses and in-law apartments. It remains to be seen how impactful these changes will be in accelerating Chicago’s inventory of affordable housing.

With downtown office vacancy rates at all-time highs, I’d like to see the city explore incentives to safely convert existing office space to housing, with an affordable housing component. While every development project must be considered on a case-by-case basis with robust community engagement, throughout the city we should minimize developer buyouts to increase the affordable housing supply throughout the city.

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

Data shows that the vast majority of illegally-owned firearms originate from surrounding regions outside of Chicago and Illinois, where gun buyer requirements are more lax. We must create legislation that forcefully deters straw buyers from supplying guns to criminals by charging them as accomplices to the resulting violent crimes, as the outcomes are entirely foreseeable.

Separately, we must develop social support systems that incentivize our youth and give them opportunities outside of turning to crime. Access to early education, stable jobs, high-quality schools and social services, and clean and active public spaces make communities safer.

Should the city do more to encourage residents to live close to where they work and shop by building dense multi-unit apartment complexes near transportation hubs?

As a general premise, I believe the city and its neighborhoods benefit from this strategy. However, all development needs to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the quality and character of surrounding residential neighborhoods are not adversely impacted, and that any potential issues are comprehensively discussed in public forums so that these developments move forward with buy-in from the most important stakeholders: the local members of the community.

Should the city prioritize the construction of bicycle lanes and encourage people to use bicycles to commute to work?

The city should prioritize construction of protected bicycle lanes to improve safety. Whether residents are bicycling to work, to run errands, or for pleasure they should be able to do so safely. I believe many more residents would feel comfortable and be encouraged to bike if they weren’t in fear of vehicular accidents or getting doored.

In the past three years, three bicyclists have been killed in our ward due to the lack of safety infrastructure. Two of them were in my neighborhood and it was only after the second fatality that the current alderman and CDOT took some actions to improve safety.

Should city employees continue to be required to live in Chicago?

Philosophically, I do believe that city service providers should also be citizen stakeholders of the services that they provide. A good illustration of this is the requirement for a ward Alderman to reside within the ward boundaries. 

For practical and logistical reasons, this requirement should be upheld. In order to function and deliver services reliably, the City requires a reliable workforce. As one example, Chicago is renowned for inclement weather conditions that would be even more disruptive for employees commuting from outside of the City or even the state. The City should also preserve its revenue from city workers rather than creating an environment where employee wages are more easily spent elsewhere and benefiting other municipalities and states instead.