To inform voters and to help the baiduhai 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: Raymond Lopez
Ward: 15th
Current job: Alderman – 15th Ward, City of Chicago
Previous political experience: Alderman (2015-Present), Democratic Committeeman (2012-Present)
Education: Some College
Spouse’s occupation: Communications Coordinator – Two Holy Martyrs Church
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.
City Hall and the politicians that occupy that building must first and foremost stop making excuses for bad behavior. We readily acknowledge that we cannot arrest our way out of the climate we find ourselves in; however, we do not need to encourage it either.
Additionally, the City of Chicago spends billions on infrastructure investments throughout the city’s 77 neighborhoods. Those dollars should be used as a job works program designed to create working class communities everywhere, especially when it is 100% fund by Chicago taxpayer dollars.
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.
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Right now, the lack of safety on CTA is an immediate issue needing a direct response. They need to bring back its own Transit Police separate from the Chicago Police Department so that the unit cannot be manipulated to compensate for staffing problems within the department. Additionally, investments in technology can create an agency that maximizes efficient deliver of a public service.
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?
Public schools must be an attractive option for Chicago families. Sadly that is not the case in many communities. However, the soon-to-be elected Board of Education will be able to set their funding & revenue priorities that will allow the district to re-energize its ability to achieve the goal of providing a quality education to all Chicagoans.
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.
It is an unsustainable mission to invest in communities while ignoring the main cause of private disinvestment: crime. Programs like the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, Invest SouthWest, etc can open the door to public investment in private entrepreneurs; however, if the area is not safe for business to be successful, it will ultimately fail. Crime and violence must be discussed in tandem with any public/private investment strategy. Where the city can and should continue to make investments is in the infrastructure of these communities: streets, sidewalks, lighted alleys, etc. Those are universal and can set the tone for prospective investment.
Do you support giving Chicagoans property tax relief? If yes, please explain how you would accomplish it. If no, please explain why not.
I have advocated for millions in property tax relief by way of reducing bloat within the municipal budget. For the last three budgets I have highlighted the thousands of vacant yet fully paid for jobs in the budget that add millions to the property tax levy. If you want to give relief, start with only charging taxpayers for those positions we intend to fill & use to deliver services.
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?
TIF funding is absolutely useful though it is often misunderstood. One way to reform TIF spending would be to eliminate the closed-door TIF Investment Committee and bring the entire process to the Committee on Finance, the public body charged with approving expenditures and transfers.
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?
This administration has completely failed to move the needle on this issue. I have proposed replacing the lead every time the street is opened for ANY type of work, piggy-backing on the existing work. That add-on would save Chicago taxpayers millions and make the most amount of sense moving forward.
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.
I am a pragmatic leader who does not believe in cookie-cutter approaches to tackling ward issues. I understand that all neighborhoods deserve my attention, but their respective issues require me to create solutions to problems that fit the need locally. I have and continue to maintain office hours, Ward Night, and am accessible to all my residents via my personal cell.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
Crime remains the #1 issue facing the 15th Ward. After that, particularly in the new parts of the ward, delivering city service has been inconsistent from their previous aldermen. Most residents feel they were forgotten. It has been my priority since June 2022 to meet with residents locally at neighborhood pop-up events and triage outstanding requests. As we start the new year, we are bringing all parts of the ward, old and new, up to the same starting line.
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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 a proven, common-sense leader. I have a record of listening to my constituents, hearing their concerns, and fighting for them and their family. I always speak from a place of truth, for better or worse. I have shown it is possible to bring people from diverse communities together under one roof. We have made it work over the last two terms and I know how to keep my ward moving forward in the years to come.