DIGNITY FOR EVERYONE

My platform starts with your dignity—and your neighbors. Dignity is a civic responsibility. It is the difference between a city where people can build a future and one where they are continually pushed toward insecurity, instability, or displacement. That is why my goal is not simply progress or growth, but sustainable continuity: a neighborhood where people from all walks of life are welcomed, can put down roots, and take part in a shared civic life.

Dignity, in this sense, is a design principle for government. It requires more than isolated programs—it requires systems that support long-term stability across housing, education, safety, and public space. Therefore, I support investment into community spaces, affordable housing, youth programming, mental health resources, and other systems that allow people to build stable lives.

I translate dignity into 5 city and neighborhood-level projects.

#1 “SUSTAINABLE 48”

The 48th Ward is entering a period of extraordinary opportunity. The Broadway rezoning, CTA Red Line modernization, and renewed interest in transit-oriented development will shape our neighborhood for decades. But zoning alone is not a neighborhood investment strategy. Zoning grants permission to build. It does not assemble land, attract financing, coordinate infrastructure, pursue grants, or connect individual projects into a stronger neighborhood.

Today, what we see is that development is largely negotiated one project at a time. Developers propose, residents react, then aldermen mediate. But many of the goals we care about—housing affordability, pedestrian activation, stronger commercial corridors, public lakefront access, coordinated public green space, energy resilience, historic preservation, and neighborhood identity—cannot be achieved parcel by parcel.

That is why as alderman, I will establish Sustainable 48, a ward-level development and coordination strategy designed to make better development easier to build. Rather than waiting for projects to appear, my office will actively work to attract investment, coordinate public infrastructure, and build partnerships that align private development with our development goals.

I will advance Sustainable 48 through the following priorities:

Transit-Oriented Development Strategy. A proactive approach to assembling land, attracting private investment, and coordinating public infrastructure, especially around the newly opened Red Line stations at Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, and Thorndale. These areas include some of the most underdeveloped sites in the neighborhood. This effort focuses on aligning zoning, infrastructure investments, and public realm planning so that these station areas are ready to support high-quality, transit-oriented development.

Design & Visioning Capacity. Visionary planning which leans into the architectural discipline to produce visual assets for attracting mission-driven financing and development into the Ward. Our benchmark should be Horizon Lines, a World Business Chicago design competition, focused on advancing bold ideas for Chicago’s future.

Developer Outreach Strategy. Aggressive outreach to the development community to attract transit-oriented development projects to the Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, and Thorndale station areas. This work will communicate clear neighborhood priorities, including pedestrian activity, bicycle connectivity, and a strong emphasis on locally rooted businesses and community-serving commercial spaces rather than formula-driven national chains.

Green Infrastructure Systems. Nature-based stormwater solutions which leverage the City’s recently released green infrastructure strategy for resource green infrastructure, especially on the Broadway corridor. Partnership with Loyola’s School of Environmental Sustainability is on the table.

Lakefront Resilience Planning. Nature-based planning for our lakefront and shoreline storm weather resilience in coordination with regional agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

My role as alderman should not simply be approving or opposing development. It should be helping create the conditions that allow great projects to happen in the first place.

Sustainable 48 is designed to build that capacity.

Within my first months in office, I will begin building this 48th Ward Master Plan in partnership with residents and local organizations.

#2 NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

The 48th Ward is filled with talented, civically engaged residents who want to contribute to the future of our community. However, too often, communication is one-directional. And neighborhood participation is fragmented, disconnected from actual decision-making, or lacks leverage downtown for securing the policy and resources our projects require. I believe government works best when it creates clear, accessible channels for participation and collaboration.

As alderman, I will establish a Neighborhood Partnership Network to strengthen communication and coordination between residents, neighborhood organizations, and City Hall:

Communication Channels. Establish direct, public-facing communication channels from the Ward office, including a Substack publication, short-form video updates, and recorded briefings on major neighborhood issues and projects. These channels will complement—not replace—traditional notices by providing transparent, narrative explanations of what is being discussed, decided, and planned.

Neighborhood Coordination. Work with existing block clubs, neighborhood associations, cultural institutions, schools, and other civic organizations into a coordinated network that can share priorities and collaborate on cross-neighborhood initiatives.

Project Resourcing. Investigate and provide resources for neighborhood projects, including funding for historical preservation, arts and community projects, and green-ifying the 48th Ward.

My background in organizational and change management has focused on helping groups navigate complex challenges, align stakeholders, and move projects forward. I believe those same tools can help strengthen civic trust and neighborhood coordination here in the 48th Ward.

Democracy depends on more than elections. It depends on structures that allow participation to become meaningful action.

#3 SAFETY & POLICE TRANSFORMATION

The 48th Ward has long been a neighborhood where people from many backgrounds, identities, and walks of life have built community together. The fact that so many different people have chosen to build a life here is a sign that this is a safe place. As alderman, I will work to ensure that every resident—regardless of sexuality, gender, race, religion, background, or identity—feels equally secure participating openly in neighborhood life.

But true safety requires more than law enforcement and emergency response—it requires trust, strong relationships, and public spaces where neighbors can speak openly about their concerns, experiences, and fears while working together to address civic challenges. The true measure of a safe community is how rarely it requires emergency intervention at all.

That is why I support police transformation: a renewed vision of community policing grounded in relationship-building and long-term neighborhood resilience. This includes revitalizing the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) in the 20th and 24th Districts through community presence and meaningful public engagement.

As alderman, I will work with leadership in the 20th and 24th Police Districts to advance four priorities for community policing:

Community Building. Expand neighborhood engagement through CAPS meetings, beat walks, business outreach, and regular collaboration with block clubs, schools, faith communities, and neighborhood organizations so officers know residents before problems become crises.

Recruitment & Professional Development. Advocate for recruiting, training, and promoting officers who demonstrate strong communication, de-escalation, crisis intervention, and relationship-building skills alongside traditional law enforcement capabilities.

Measuring What Matters. Encourage the Chicago Police Department to evaluate community policing not only by response times and arrests, but also by reductions in repeat calls for service, stronger neighborhood participation, increased public trust, improved officer retention, and long-term community self-sustainability.

Alternative Community Response. Expand partnerships with mental health professionals, violence prevention organizations, homeless outreach teams, youth programs, and other community-based service providers so police are not the default response to every social challenge.

Policing alone cannot produce safe neighborhoods. Public safety is strongest when law enforcement, community organizations, and residents work together to build neighborhoods that are more resilient, more connected, and better equipped to solve problems before they require emergency intervention.

A healthy neighborhood is one where people feel secure enough to participate fully in civic and public life.

That is the kind of public safety I will work to build in the 48th Ward.

#4 HOUSING STABILITY & PUBLIC WEALTH

Chicago cannot remain a strong city if working families, seniors, young people, and longtime residents are continually pushed toward instability or displacement. Housing affordability is not only about building more units. It is about whether people can build a future in the neighborhoods they call home.

Therefore, I support expanding housing supply—especially near transit and commercial corridors—while ensuring that growth strengthens long-term neighborhood stability. However, housing policy should not only manage scarcity; it should help create the conditions for living a dignified life—for everyone. That means encouraging mixed-income development, supporting aging in place, and addressing rent and property tax pressures that can displace residents and small businesses.

As alderman, I will advance a Neighborhood Stability Initiative through the following priorities:

Housing Affordability & Supply Expansion. Support increased housing production near transit, commercial corridors, and underutilized sites, with an emphasis on mixed-income development that expands access while strengthening neighborhood continuity.

Anti-Displacement Strategy. Develop targeted tools to reduce displacement by exploring rent stabilization for existing housing stock while exempting new construction. The goal is to protect affordability without discouraging the housing growth Chicago needs.

Building Preservation & Modernization Support. Expand programs that help property owners and small landlords maintain and modernize aging housing stock, including energy efficiency upgrades, accessibility improvements, and rehabilitation support in exchange for long-term neighborhood vitality commitments.

Public Asset Strategy (Urban Wealth Fund Approach). Explore Urban Wealth Fund approaches that treat public land, infrastructure, and city-owned assets as long-term civic resources capable of generating reinvestment into housing affordability, infrastructure repair, and neighborhood development priorities.

The goal of Urban Wealth Fund approaches is not simply monetization of public assets, but strategic reinvestment into housing stability, infrastructure maintenance, and long-term neighborhood investment capacity. Many successful global cities treat public assets not as static holdings, but as long-term civic infrastructure that can strengthen housing affordability and neighborhood resilience. Chicago already possesses significant public resources, but they are often fragmented across agencies and disconnected from long-term strategy.

You can learn more about Urban Wealth Funds in GFOA's Putting Public Assets to Work.

Progressivism must solve the problem of public wealth.

#5 GOOD GOVERNANCE & CHICAGO CITY CHARTER

Good governance is not abstract legislation. It affects whether city services are delivered in a timely fashion, whether buses arrive on time, and whether you are empowered to conduct your business.

Chicago’s governance challenges are not only cultural—they are structural. Too often, residents experience city government as fragmented, inconsistent, opaque, or reactive. Public trust erodes when government lacks clear accountability, coordination, and long-term institutional vision. That is why I support exploring a Chicago City Charter.

A City Charter would establish a clearer constitutional framework for how city government operates: defining powers, responsibilities, transparency standards, and institutional checks and balances. Most major American cities adopted charters during the Progressive Era of American history. These charters sought to encourage stronger democratic structure, expand voter rights and public participation, improve institutional and corporate trust, including greater social welfare.

Institutional reform, however, cannot stop at City Hall. It must also change how residents participate in public decision-making.

Therefore, as alderman, I will explore the use of Citizens' Juries in the 48th Ward to help residents understand and deliberate on upcoming referendums and major city ordinances being considered in City Hall. The purpose of Citizens' Juries are not to persuade voters one way or another on a particular issue, but to produce more informed public discussion while strengthening trust between City Hall and the communities it serves.

Chicagoans deserve institutions designed for the next century—not systems inherited from the past. This is Progressivism 2.0