To inform voters and to help the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board make endorsements, the board posed a series of questions to the candidates running for alderman. See their answers below. See how other candidates answered here.
Name: Leonor “Lori” Torres Whitt
Ward: 36th
Current job: Teacher, Chicago Public Schools
Previous political experience: I am currently an elected representative of the Chicago Teachers Union, Executive Board. I am the Chair of the Chicago Teachers Union Legislative Chair and previously served as the Chair to the Political Action Committee. I have also served as Board President for Grassroots Illinois Action – Humboldt Park. I serve on the United with Delia Leadership team.
Education: Roberto Clemente Community Academy High School Wilbur Wright City College Eastern Illinois University, Bachelor of Science in Education Concordia University, River Forest, IL, Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration
Spouse’s occupation: Consultant, Mortgage Broker
Sources of outside income: None
The rise in violent crime remains a top priority for City Hall. Homicides, shootings and carjackings are all unacceptably high. Tell us how city government can be innovative in combating crime, and explain what measures you would propose if elected.
My experiences in the classroom over the last two decades, witnessing the trauma our city’s youth and families face, inform my outlook around approaches to crime and violence prevention Innovation in this space would be if the City took on a coordinated effort to have police, educators, mental health practitioners, and case management that are empowered and trained to do their best job. Chronic disinvestment has meant that while we may take a specialized interest in any one of the domains above at a given moment, we haven’t funded them in a comprehensive manner. This disinvestment means we have police officers handling situations that would be best served by case managers and mental health practitioners and makes it harder for them to do their job to respond to the episodes they are uniquely able to serve in as officers. Further, the entire crime prevention safety net – organizations, schools, mental health providers, community based approaches – are left without the funding for essential care management and services that help prevent crime and address the root causes of crime in housing and economic insecurity.
For us to be innovative means funding this interconnected work across this city so we can focus on getting our community the resources and help they need while supporting our law enforcement through role clarity and more opportunities for them to help solve crime. Investment in our youth is also crucial. The long game in a sustainable approach to this work says that by grounding our youth in education, resources and job opportunities, we have an opportunity to prevent crime and resource families with the wraparound support that will help change their proximity to it.
We have an opportunity to build a model that works well for our city, not just a reactionary solution to a specific crime or the public’s passing attention and it can be rooted in getting everyone – community, police, and crime prevention safety net – what they need to not just survive, but thrive.
The CTA, one of the nation’s largest transit systems, remains a troubled agency grappling with issues ranging from violent crime and ghost buses and trains, to flagging ridership. Give us your thoughts on what specific measures CTA should take to make train and bus service safer, more reliable and more equitable for Chicagoans.
The CTA remains a troubled agency as a result of years of disinvestment. The move towards privatization of this service has impacted our public transit in many ways. In an effort to reverse the trajectory of decreased ridership, crime, ghost buses and trains, it is necessary to improve on the following: (1)investment in staffing: it is necessary to hire up so that ridership begins to rise, the likeliness of ghost buses and trains lessens, and the presence of staff also lessens the opportunity for crime (2) investment in electric buses: we want to show the importance in coming away from our reliance on fossil fuels and moving toward an electric fleet will help us do that, and (3) offering free ridership for students: Chicago Public Schools has not been able to keep up with the transportation demand as a city we need to help our students without causing further burden families who want their kids to have access to an opportunity not available to them in their neighborhood school. These three investments will show that CTA is an actual option for travel within the city and improve ridership, generating income to cover the costs of these investments.
Ten years ago, enrollment at Chicago Public Schools was 403,000 students. In September, enrollment stood at 322,000 students. Enrollment at CPS has dropped for 11 consecutive years. What specific measures should CPS undertake to reverse the trend of ever-dwindling enrollment?
As alderperson, there is currently no direct authority over CPS Board of Education policy. Understanding the role and authority of the alderperson is key in being an effective leader and responsive to residents of the 36th Ward. With the upcoming transition to an Elected Representative School Board, I believe we will have the opportunity to support the need for programming access, equitable staffing, and resources based on the schools needs. An elected school board will also allow for input from the communities represented.
As a city we have to prioritize public education with proper budget allocation. When we invest in a district that allows for access to robust programming at all schools—like the arts, sports, extracurriculars, tutoring, course offerings, gardens, play structures— we will see our families commitment to our district improve and also show those who have opted other means of educating their children, see our schools as a real option. My own children have to travel a distance of almost 8 miles in one direction to get to two schools from West Town to access schools that have an orchestra and a swim team. I understand deeply that choices parents have to make, when it comes to schools. Every child in Chicago deserves a neighborhood school that provides them with a safe, supportive, world-class education. As an educator and an alderman, this will be a top priority for me.
As an alderman, the schools in the 36th ward will have a champion representing them in City Hall and an advocate for the school improvements they need to best support their students. Parents, educators, and principals will have a voice in the decision making in my office.
I am a proponent of the Green Schools Campaign to green our Chicago Public Schools facilities and prepare them for the future. The dirty, toxic, and outdated conditions of school-buildings does not attract students to the system. CPS school buildings have severe needs to renovate them so that they are free from harmful toxins including lead, asbestos, and mold, and modernized to have energy efficient ventilation, heating, and cooling, and schools should be preparing children for green careers.
Disinvestment on the South and West sides is a decades-long problem with myriad causes. Give us at least one innovative idea that you believe could play a role in reversing South and West side disinvestment, and explain why the idea is realistic and feasible.
The City can use Inflation Reduction Act Funds to kick start investment in the communities that have long been overlooked. In Chicago we have the opportunity to invest in “Green Jobs”. Through the funds that would be available in The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, we can help to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and our carbon footprint with jobs that allow for the use of solar energy, building or improving on existing infrastructure and architecture that can be deemed energy efficient as a result. We can also follow the lead of CEJA at the state level that would help us become a city that prioritizes the need to invest in our communities while also understanding the importance of moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels.
Do you support giving Chicagoans property tax relief? If yes, please explain how you would accomplish it. If no, please explain why not.
I support the recently proposed measure introduced by the Ald. Rodriguez (22) to use federal stimulus funds to provide relief from property taxes. As a long time resident of West Town who was shocked by the increase in my most recent property tax bill. I don’t know how this is sustainable for working families. Our families have been priced out of their communities for decades and we need to find ways to keep families in Chicago. Keeping families in Chicago is a long term fix that will provide more of a tax base to work with that can shift our tax burden away from property taxes.
Give us your take on the city’s use of tax increment financing districts. Do you feel they have been useful, or do you feel that the problems associated with them outweigh their usefulness? What if any reforms would you want to apply to the city’s usage of TIFs?
The TIF program was created to drive investment towards the city’s under-invested communities and communities experiencing blight. As Alderperson, I would work to see that TIF dollars were directed towards this original purpose – investing both in large public projects and making funds available to homeowners and businesses. Our city can only move forward if we invest our resources in ways that create racial equity and lift up all neighborhoods. As many TIF districts have large surpluses year after year, I would support the use of TIF surplus funds to meet critical needs of our cities’ working families. TIF funds must be used to improve the infrastructure of our schools. We have not invested in the necessary upgrades our schools need. We have buildings that are 100 years old or greater. They are in desperate need of improvements and TIF funds were meant for that purpose.
Lead in drinking water is a major health concern for the city. It is estimated that in Chicago there are roughly 400,000 homes and small apartment buildings with lead service lines. So far, the city has replaced less than 300 lead service lines. Do you feel the pace of lead service line replacement should be expedited, and if yes, what is the best, most feasible way to accomplish that?
Yes, I would first start with requiring the Department of Water Management to have an outside analysis/consultant to provide a feasibility study to determine an actual goal per year using internal DWM personnel and outside contractors. Upon the findings of the study, the City should focus on replacing lead service lines in Disproportionately Impacted Areas first. We cannot be okay with the timeline for replacement ending in 2040 when we know the harm these lead lines are causing on a daily basis to our families. There also appears to be a very obvious opportunity in front of us – to use the high demand for service line replacement to employ residents from these communities to learn a trade, start a career and assist the city in accomplishing its goal.
If you are an incumbent, please explain what is it about your service on the City Council that makes you most qualified for the job. If you have never served on the council, please explain what is it about your background that makes you most qualified.
Not answered.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
As a candidate I have spent time in the ward talking to neighbors and there has been one issue on the minds of many and that is Public Safety.
As a mother of three and a teacher, public safety is a huge concern for me and my family and my students’ families. It’s unfair to expect the police to do everything. Despite the money the police are allocated, they’re not only unable to solve these cases, but by definition they only show up once a crime happens. The more we are able to invest in prevention like mental health care, housing, education, and jobs the safer we will all be. This can hopefully free up the police to actually solve some of these cases. Traditional policing is not working as a result we are where we find ourselves today. It is time we find ways to support our community, this city, and the police by creating systems of support and taking advantage of the intersectionality of these systems. We did not get here overnight and it will take time to put us back on track. As alderperson, my office will be in regular communication with the police districts that comprise this new ward, and me and my staff will be visible in all areas of the ward at CAPS meetings, roll calls, and present in our neighborhoods.
Sum up why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? (Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.)
I am the best choice in this race for several reasons: 1) I am from this community and know the issues working families face day in and day out. I will represent my neighbors, not mega developers. I will be a full-time alderperson and will not lobby on behalf of utility and transportation companies looking to do business with the city. 2) I am a rank-and-file union member and will be the ward’s #1 advocate for working people. 3) We are the progressive campaign in this race looking to unseat an 8-year incumbent who has worked hard for big developers, promotes charter school and privatization over community interest. The incumbent’s self-interest led to a redrawn ward that makes it harder for our community to centrally get what they need. This new ward represents eight miles of communities that will need to be bridged. Ideas about public safety, constituent services, and needs vary dramatically across the ward. I will be a competent, accountable voice that will champion the best for the new 36th ward.
