2023 Chicago Election Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

We are an incredibly diverse, unique and wonderful community and I want to continue to deliver results for the 50th Ward. In 2019, we opened the first new library in the ward in 60 years. The $34 million project has been lauded for meeting multiple community needs.

Since 2011, our CPS schools have received $68 million in additional funding for renovations and new playgrounds. We have invested $10 million in our parks. That kind of support for our neighborhoods by the City does not happen without advocacy and hard work. I am proud to be one of only a few Orthodox Jewish women elected officials in the United States and I hope to continue to serve as the Jewish voice in the City Council.

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

We serve as great advocates for driving investment from the City - we get things done. We're also tremendously responsive to local issues.

In early 2019, we opened the first new public library in the ward in nearly 60 years. The Northtown Branch Library at 6800 N. Western Ave. is 16,000 square feet and designed by an award-winning architecture firm. Above the library are 44 apartments designated for seniors. I already mentioned the investments in our schools and parks above. We continue to see the benefit of the $15 million streetscape that revitalized a 20 block stretch of Devon Avenue. Retail space in that area is in high demand and it's busy with shoppers almost every day of the week.

In 2020, we opened a $3.4 million bridge that links a trail that stretches from Lawrence Avenue to the Northern Suburbs. That project was initiated locally and was funded by dollars from the City, State and federal government. That trail - a beautiful and useful community asset - connects parkways north from Lawrence and runs the length of the ward along the North Shore Channel.

We are working to add physically protected bike lanes along Pratt Avenue. It will provide a critical protected east-west route through the ward and grow the existing bike network. We are also working with Lincolnwood to build a bike and pedestrian bridge over Pratt Avenue.

My Ward Office is service oriented, responsive and effective. In 2022, we directed the patching of nearly 1,000 potholes, cleaning of 300 sewers, trimming of over 175 trees and the remediation of over 1,000 rodent complaints.

While, with the consensus of the City Council we can make very substantive changes that affect the entire City, it is a challenge for a single ward office to address systemic issues like helping the CTA, for example.

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

Public safety is the biggest issue. I have voted for budgets to increase funding for public safety and will continue to do so. This year's budget provides all-time record-high resources to the Chicago Police Department - nearly $2 billion. That is a 3.4 percent increase for violence prevention over the previous year and rates among the highest spending per capita in the country. I support law enforcement and will continue to partner with law enforcement to roll back the trends we are seeing.

Hate crimes and antisemitism is a growing problem nationally and here in Chicago. Locally, hate crimes are up 71 percent this year, according to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and our community has been targeted. Until we reverse these trends, there is going to be a challenge and I'm the best person to manage it with our partners in our community.

We should seek options for additional funding for our schools, libraries and parks, particularly for programming when school is not in session and before and after school. We need to build a better network among different institutions to support families and young people.

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

We have an open door policy and I am willing to talk to anyone and everyone who wants to meet with me. We pride ourselves on constituent services. We have made vast improvements in the way day to day issues are managed in our ward Do you believe in the tradition of aldermanic prerogative, which gives each City Council member the final say on issues in their ward?

When it comes to projects that can benefit the City beyond just the boundaries of a ward, I believe there are limits to aldermanic discretion. For example, I voted to override 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano who had delayed a large residential project that will provide affordable housing in an area that desperately needs it. I generally support local control - we are locally elected and I strive to represent the interests of my constituents. While some people seem to believe certain approvals could be streamlined, I think people would be singing a different tune when City Hall approves a flashing commercial LED sign that shines through someone's bedroom window. Aldermen are the ones who know when something like that may not be a good fit.

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

While I support investments in public safety, I would like to see the Chicago Police Department budget stabilize over the next few years. In my time in the City Council, the budget for public safety has steadily increased year after year. I think those increases can shrink when long-term, sustainable hiring programs are in place and, for example, we don't have to rely on overtime or canceled vacations to attempt to properly staff our police districts. However, like school districts, police departments budgets are overwhelmingly driven by personnel costs, which for a variety of reasons, like the cost of healthcare, tend to increase from year to year.

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.

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

Yes.

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

The CHA is currently sitting on a balance of about $500 million. That money should not be languishing in a bank account, it should be committed to shovel-ready projects that will create jobs and homes for Chicagoans who need them.

Our ward has historically been home to many new Americans and we've seen home prices increase and with that an increased need for affordable housing. In early 2019, we opened the first new public library in the ward in nearly 60 years. The new Northtown Branch Library included 44 apartments for senior housing. I will continue to seek investment that includes affordable units.

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

We need to do better in terms of hiring when it comes to City workers from the police and fire department to bus drivers to CTA maintenance workers. Bonuses for hiring or longevity, better benefits and increased salaries should be on the table to attract and retain talented, committed people who want to work in public service. Police should be free to do the jobs they are trained to do.

I am in favor of hiring civilians with special training or backgrounds in areas like mental health or, for example, handling non-violent situations, such as traffic control. I also support coordinated responses between police and people with backgrounds in mental health.

I believe strict gun laws and increased penalties for crimes involving guns are good public safety policies. Gun crimes and mass shootings are a real and dangerous threat in Chicago. Our community survived a mass shooting committed by a white supremacist many years ago and we cannot let dangerous and sick people access guns, especially automatic weapons. I supported the new Protect Communities Act (HB5855) which was recently signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker. Gun trafficking should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

In the long term, we should seek options for additional funding for our schools, libraries and parks, particularly for programming when school is not in session and before and after school. We need to build a better network among different institutions to support families and young people.