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: Ronnie Mosley
Ward: 21st
Current job: Founding Principal, Homegrown Strategy Group
Previous political experience: In the past decade, I have worked as the Deputy Cannabis Regulation Officer (CROO) of External Affairs and Communication for the State of Illinois; Community Affairs Specialist to the Office of the 58th Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton; Political Advisor for JB Pritzker for Governor; Assistant to 8th Ward Ald. Michelle Harris; Legislative Aide to State Senator Vincent Fort (D-GA-39); Regional Field Director for Chicago for Rahm Emanuel; and Gun Violence Prevention Network Co-Founder: and Organizing Fellow for the Center for American Progress. Additionally, I co-founded Homegrown Strategy Group, a policy and organizing firm, and served on the boards of Mikva Challenge and March For Our Lives. I was elected to the Local School Council of Simeon Career Academy and Wendell Green Elementary. I have also served as a consultant for APS & Associates. My clients have ranged from local labor unions to national leaders. I have advocated on behalf of people as well as policy. Some of these clients are JB for Governor, Morehouse College, Infoworks Consulting, Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus, Obama foundation, American Association of Retired Persons, Alderman Rod Sawyer, Cook County Commissioner Bill Lowry, March for Our Lives, Center for American Progress, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Education: Morehouse College, Bachelor of Urban Studies Management
Spouse’s occupation: High School Transition Advisor, KIPP Charter Schools
Sources of outside income: N/A
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.
The number one cause of death for Black youth and young adults is gun violence. I’ve lost friends and loved ones to gun violence over the years. I’ve made one of my life’s missions the pursuit of ending gun violence in Chicago and through our state, as the founder of a national network of organizers that works to prevent gun violence and reform the U.S. criminal justice system. The interconnectedness of gun violence and poverty is glaring and obvious. That is why I plan to redirect more city resources towards investments in job growth and jobs training. By replacing violence with future-planning at a young age, I believe that education and accessibility can create a safer, stronger community for all people, especially those who are impacted daily by high crime rates.
Additionally, I fundamentally believe that in order to have a police force that truly operates with a creed to protect and to serve, our society needs to completely reimagine the role of law enforcement in communities like the 21st Ward. We must also invest in social workers and trained crisis managers skilled in de-escalation. We can do this by investing in our young people, local leaders, and survivors of gun violence and work with them to make our communities safer. We can address oppressive policing by directing attention and funding into communities like ours.
I support proposals that bring compassion into our city. Policy initiatives like Treatment not Trauma, can drastically alter the likelihood of crime in Chicago by investing in empathetic treatment programs. Alternative responses to mental health crises and an increase in mental health centers not only provides each human with dignity, support, and compassion, but was overwhelmingly supported by voters in the 21st Ward. I support having trained personnel: crisis managers for de-escalation, social workers for family support, and activists for community advocacy. By investing in people, we can invest in our city and ensure people feel seen and supported.
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.
As a longtime resident of the 21st ward, I have seen first hand the importance of a strong and reliable transit system. As a community that is called home by numerous working families who depend on our transit system, the 21st ward has, and will continue to be, directly impacted by transit readiness and success. I believe that we should focus on increasing accountability systems in the CTA, including focusing on funneling resources that reestablish trust and confidence in the transit schedules and providing protections for not only riders but transit employees. We should also focus on agency efficiency and look at ways we can tighten policies and procedures that would allow for the agency to operate at its full capacity and so CTA leadership will be able to focus time on public safety and education. Additionally, as Alderman, I will use public forums and community outreach meetings to make sure that my office has constant feedback and dialogue with its constituents on all transit topics–from the red line extension, to the cleanliness of stops and every detail in between.
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?
Our schools are only as good as the resources we put into them. As a community advocate and member of the Local School Council for Simeon Career Academy and Wendell Green Elementary, I know the impact good schools have on my community.
As Alderman, I will work tirelessly to ensure that the schools in the 21st Ward get access to the resources that are available to them and create a community ecosystem that focuses on highlighting the programs available for parents in their neighborhood schools. This would include focusing on connecting the administrations of elementary and high school schools with community partners and organizations to create a holistic approach to educating not only the students, but the greater community, in how to build together.
I would advocate for heightened involvement in the schools, by all community members and work with CPS on progressive policies that could be enacted in individual schools to create a collective responsibility for the success and safety of our schools. Additionally, I would leverage long-standing relationships that I have formed as a member of the Local School Council and former student Board of Education member to lead to increase opportunities for my community and work on setting aside a board seat for student on the LSC level, allowing for the most important voice, the students, to be represented in determining the best approach for our schools.
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.
Investment is the solution to divestment, there’s no way around it. By using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, we can provide more equitable access to healthcare, transportation, jobs training, and many other innovative programs that will lead to economic opportunity for all of those that need the support of government resources on the South and West sides. The best way to utilize ARPA funds is to invest in education, including career training for students and higher wages for staff, as well as meeting the technological needs of our students. When we prioritize our schools, we invest in our children as well as our city’s future.
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 a progressive tax that ensures the wealthiest Chicagoans pay their fair share, while providing equitable relief to everyone else. By sponsoring an ordinance that provides reasonable relief, while maintaining strong tax revenue streams, I will make sure that housing is accessible and affordable to all Chicagoans. Additionally, I support Bring Chicago Home, and am excited for ordinances that explore and commit to long-term solutions for Chicago’s housing crisis.
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 original intent of TIF was to invest in city projects that would make Chicago better for our most disinvested communities. Over the years, TIF programs have been used as an economic vehicle that has wavered off course and not directly impacted communities, like the 21st ward, who need it the most. In recent years, TIF reform policies have allowed the city to get back on course and support programs like the red-line expansion that will bring substantial economic growth to my community. As Alderman, I would work with the TIF committee to determine the best way to stay on the right path and focus on making sure there is an increase of accountability and transparency to ensure all communities are benefiting from TIF investments.
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?
All Chicagoans should have rights to clean drinking water. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed a lot of city programs down and now we need to focus on expediting lead line service replacement to get back on track. I would work with the city committees and unions to gain more clarity on the resources needed to get back on track and advocate for increased metrics/reporting on finalization projections that will allow me to keep my community aware of the plan to make sure their drinking water is safe and advocate for increased timelines.
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.
As a seasoned organizer and a longtime advocate for my community, I have direct insight into how the aldermanic office works, which would allow me to easily navigate the ins and outs of city council and become a great resource for my community. I have worked with aldermanic offices in many capacities and understand what is necessary to get the job done. My background in urban planning plus my connection to community leaders and every level of Government, makes me best suited to spearhead the economic development needed in the ward and educate my community on how to funnel more resources into their businesses, schools and blocks to create a stronger 21st ward for years to come.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
One of the most pressing issues facing the 21st Ward is the lack of economic development and resources available to members of the ward. As Alderman, I would focus on funneling resources into the community to incentivize small businesses to establish in the ward and create a community where families can spend their time and money within their own community. Creating a strong and vibrant retail district will be the centerpiece of my office. By attracting more retailers to open up stores in the 21st Ward, as well as establishing robust job training programs, we can develop the self-sufficient and transformative retail economy that the citizens of my community deserve.
I strongly believe that an increase in development would increase neighborhood pride and help recruit even more families to reside in the ward. With a better economic system, residents would be even more invested in the safety and growth of the community and allow my office to work on bringing in better mental health resources, senior assistance, housing relief and property tax resources to the 21st Ward.
Sum up why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? (Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.)
The 21st ward is at a crossroads, now is the time to decide how my community can move forward and grow to become an even greater neighborhood where people will still want to reside and be proud to call home. I am the only candidate who has worked in multiple aldermanic offices and would be able to get to work for my community on day one. I have spent my career learning how city council works, how best to advocate for residents, and building long-standing relationships with outside partners and community leaders that I will be able to call upon once elected. My community has prepared me for this opportunity. The 21st Ward will forever be my home and I know I am the right person at the right moment to lead my community forward.
