ISSUES & SOLUTIONS

How we make the 21st Ward Thrive

WARD SERVICES

Our ward needs to get our fair share of city services. As your Alderman, my office will guide you through city services. I will run an operation centered around constiuent services. From day one, I’ll use my unique background and prior work with every level of government to allow this ward to thrive.

Hire, train, and maintain staff through a constiuent-focused service lens
Provide multiple opportunities to work with our offices, including weekly constituent nights with special hours for seniors and those with disabilities and monthly ward meetings.
Quarterly town halls with city department officials so residents can directly ask questions about city services and raise concerns.
Workshops on issues like property tax relief, mental wellness, housing, and financial literacy.
Alderman-in-the-ward pop-up at local businesses.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Having a safe ward is vital to a thriving community. We need a ward office that takes action on concerns and connects with the police force, so it operates with a creed to protect and serve our community and address the root causes of crime to prevent it from happening in the first place. That’s how the 21st ward becomes a safe ward.

You are our eyes and ears on our blocks; when you share information, my office will act. Block clubs and community organizations will have access to engagement resources from our office and a regular presence at their meetings.
I will work with the new police district councils to create accountability. Chicago Police officers being over-tasked with roles and responsibilities has made it hard to focus on public safety and placed officers in situations that they don't have the training or resources to handle. That is why we must invest in social workers and trained crisis managers skilled in de-escalation.
Creating opportunities to combat crime’s root causes: poverty, health care, and homelessness, is your Alderman’s moral duty. Policy initiatives like Treatment, not Trauma, can drastically alter the likelihood of crime in Chicago by investing in empathetic treatment programs. I commit to working with the city’s Community Safety Coordination Center – a coalition to coordinate anti-violence interventions across multiple city departments – and push it to become an office with a budget and citizen/experts recommendations.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The product and services we desire are hard to find in our Ward. This problem has led us to support other economies instead of strengthening our own. We need strong business districts —planned and worked by us— for strong neighborhood growth and jobs.

Establish the 21st Ward Community Planning Committee (CPC) made up of neighborhood, faith, education, labor, and industry leaders who believe in our Ward's future and are committed to helping our neighborhoods revitalize and develop our community so our community pride won't be a thing of the past.
Hold community-wide planning meetings to focus on a master planning guide of our Ward’s future in the 21st Ward and assess what businesses/services we already have in our community.
Reverse the decades of divestment by investing government funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and invest South/West to provide more equitable access to healthcare, transportation, job training, and many other innovative programs that will lead to economic opportunity for all.
Collaborate with our Local and Central Business Districts to create neighborhood-based incubators to focus on job training and create employee pipelines for businesses.
Used tax-increment financing (TIF) as it was initially intended with transparency and feedback.

EDUCATION

Education is the passport to the future. It prepares our children for the days ahead, keeps families here, and encourages more families to join. As an Elementary and High School Local School Council member at I know wee need fully funded, staffed, and resourced schools for students to thrive in our ward.

Regularly convene schools leaders for curriculum collaborations
Donate classroom supplies to give students, parents, and teachers some budget relief
Collaborate with the College and Career Advisory Councils
Collaborate with the City's incoming elected school board.

HOUSING

Housing is a basic human right. I support tax relief to homeowners, security for renters, and shelter for our homeless.

Work to help residents navigate rental assistance programs, property tax bill negotiations, and relief.
Support a measure ensuring each CPS student has a stable, affordable, safe, and caring home.
Our city also heavily depends on property taxes, directly impacting working and middle-class families. I support a progressive tax that ensures the wealthiest Chicagoans pay their fair share while providing equitable relief to everyone else.
I support Chicago Home, an ordinance that would levy a 2% tax on property sales over $1 million and use the funds generated to build needed affordable housing units across Chicago.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

As a community called home by numerous working families who depend on a functioning transit system, the 21st Ward has, and will continue to be, directly impacted by transit readiness and success.

Use public forums and community outreach meetings to ensure my office has constant feedback and dialogue with its constituents on all transit topics–from the Red Line Extension Project to street infrastructure.
Let us focus on increasing accountability systems in the CTA, including directing resources that reestablish trust and confidence in the transit schedules and providing protections for riders and transit employees.
We must also expand transit services in the Ward. Many 21st Ward residents have limited access to CTA services, and this must change for us to grow our economy and support residents.
Expand bike lanes through the Ward, making our roads safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.
Respond to concerns of decaying streets, snow storms, and infrastructure challenges that cause inaccessibility concerns for seniors and disabled persons.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS

Across our country, women’s rights are under attack. With the Supreme Court’s decision to restrict a woman’s reproductive choices, Chicago must serve as a beacon to advance policies that uplift the rights and autonomy of women.

Women should maintain their right to choose and access women’s health initiatives.
Commit to maintaining Chicago’s status as a haven for all people who need reproductive healthcare and abortion services.
Investigate why In 2021, more than one-third of missing people in Chicago were Black women.
Protect women from violence and harassment.
We must use the City Council to protect and advocate for women facing violence in our ward and city.