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: Debra Silvestein
Ward: 50th
Current job: 50th Ward Alderman, City of Chicago; part-time/seasonal accountant (income taxes), Lipschultz Levin & Gray, LLC
Previous political experience: Democratic Committeeperson, 50th Ward
Education: Bachelor’s Degree, University of Illinois – Chicago
Spouse’s occupation: N/A
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.
I have voted for budgets to increase funding for public safety and will continue to do so. This year’s budget provides all-time record-high resources to the Chicago Police Department – nearly $2 billion. That is a 3.4 percent increase for violence prevention over the previous year and rates among the highest spending per capita in the country.
I support law enforcement and will continue to work collaboratively with the goal of rolling back the trends we are seeing. Effectively fighting crime – and hate crime – in our community is absolutely critical. Antisemitism is a growing problem nationally and locally. Locally, hate crimes are up 71 percent this year, according to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and our community has been targeted. Until we reverse these trends, there is going to be a challenge and I’m the best person to manage it with our partners in our community.
I support hiring more police officers to replace those who have left the force via incentives such as bonuses and enhanced benefits.
Police should be doing the jobs they are trained to do. I am in favor of hiring civilians with special training or backgrounds in areas like mental health or for example to handling non-violent issues. I also support coordinated responses between police and people with backgrounds in mental health.
I believe strict gun laws and increased penalties for crimes involving guns are good public safety policies. Gun crimes and mass shootings are a real and dangerous threat in Chicago. Our community survived a mass shooting committed by a white supremacist many years ago and we cannot let dangerous and sick people access guns, especially automatic weapons. I support the Protect Communities Act (HB5855) which is under consideration by the ILGA.
We should seek options for additional funding for our schools, libraries and, parks, particularly for programming when school is not in session and before and after school. We need to build a better network among different institutions to support families and young people.
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.
We need to do better in terms of hiring when it comes to City workers from the police and fire department to bus drivers to CTA maintenance workers. Bonuses for hiring or longevity, better benefits and increased salaries should be on the table to attract and retain talented, committed people who want to work in public service.
Increasing the number of police and security workers on the CTA while increasing the frequency of trains and buses and promoting ridership will make it a more appealing option for users. We are losing riders and it’s wrong for us to fail the workers and students and others who rely on public transit and are subjected to criminal activity and delays. The City is paying for private security on trains and stations – that work should be reviewed to make sure security workers are doing their jobs and being dispatched effectively. For the City to be successful, we must have safe, affordable, and reliable public transportation.
The last three years have been the deadliest in decades for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. We must address this crisis on our roadways. Adding protected bike lanes and building a real network of safe routes for cyclists and pedestrians. Unlike most suburbs, the City of Chicago lacks coordinated traffic light signals along major thoroughfares – we must quickly update and build out infrastructure to make streets safer for users.
I have voted for additional funding for the CTA through my budget votes and voted in favor of the historic proposal to extend the Red Line.
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?
Successful, quality public schools are critical to the future of the City. I am so grateful for the work performed by our teachers and school staff, especially in recent years with new, never before seen challenges.
The 50th Ward is home to wonderful CPS schools that I have worked tirelessly to support, but more can be done citywide to provide help to CPS families. For example, affordable childcare via CPS before and after school. This year, many families were turned away from getting extra help due to staff shortages. The expansion of preschool has helped parents however there is a need for more all-day preschool that match the hours of working households. The City should look to use empty Chicago Archdiocese sites, our libraries or possibly even vacant commercial locations to expand its offerings for families where it is needed.
Programming before and after school should also be coordinated with the Chicago Park District. Suburban school districts facilitate transportation to after-school programs at local parks but CPS does not.
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.
Chicago needs to grow its economy and increased manufacturing would be a vehicle for doing that. For more than a decade we have been talking about how Chicago has become a national business center for wind power and solar energy. We should explore proposals for offshore wind power and continue to explore how sustainable energy can help Chicago build its manufacturing base and create new jobs.
While states like Ohio and Arizona have received help from the federal government in landing massive new factories to build microprocessors and other products, Illinois has not. I hope to see our state’s leadership try to deliver new growth where it is needed. Rebuilding and expanding infrastructure is another area where we can invest and create new jobs.
Do you support giving Chicagoans property tax relief? If yes, please explain how you would accomplish it. If no, please explain why not.
Property taxes remain among the most unequal and unfair taxes that exist in this country and I have opposed them for all of my 11 years as Alderman. In 2017, the Tribune called property taxes “An Unfair Burden” and while some things have changed in the five years since that article was published, our reliance on this unfair system of taxes continues to harm our city and our residents.
To that end, one of the most important things I can do is to work with our peers in Springfield. We will need their support to make drastic changes similar to those found in the doomed “Fair Tax” fight from a few years back. I am proud of my efforts in that fight, but fairness lost and we must consider how we can ensure it has another chance.
On the ground, my office does everything it can to help 50th Ward residents appeal their property taxes. As a certified accountant myself, I believe those appeals remain the most important tool aldermen have to lower property taxes. While I would like to see those services expanded in some other wards, what is most important to me is that 50th Ward residents know they have an Alderman that will do everything in her power to reduce their property tax burden.
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 funds should primarily assist residents and local businesses by redeveloping our infrastructure including our parks and schools. We have used TIF extensively to help improve commercial districts along Devon and Touhy avenues – these projects were driven by community meetings and collaboration with various City departments. When used appropriately, they are a valuable tool to help with development.
TIF should be applied to areas that are truly blighted or undeveloped. They should not be used to benefit well-financed projects – the Amazons of the world should not be the recipients of TIF funds for distribution centers, for example. While my approach is to use TIF funds locally for needed projects, I support sweeps of TIFs that move unused funds back into the General Budget – if other aldermen cannot create projects within predetermined timeframes, the City needs every penny it can get.
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?
I consider this situation to be a public health crisis on the level of what we have seen in Flint, Michigan, and, yes, the replacement of lead service lines needs to be expedited. Fewer than 300 out of 390,000 service lines had been replaced as of the end of 2022 and that’s unacceptable. The City is in the process of closing on a $350 million federal loan to make progress on this issue. Those funds should be spent as efficiently and quickly as possible. If residents or private entities want to take the initiative and replace their own lines, the City should find ways to compensate them. Any time the City digs for any reason, they should determine if there are opportunities to replace nearby service lines. When utility work is happening involving gas or other lines, the City should look to partner with utilities to replace the water lines. On top of that, there needs to be a long-term, systematic plan with a timeline to replace each and every line. If that exists, aldermen haven’t seen it.
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.
Our community had been ignored for many years when I took office in 2011. The progress has been remarkable. Our schools, parks, library, and business districts are dramatically improved thanks to tens of millions of dollars in investment that I successfully advocated for through my Office. People know the 50th Ward is a welcoming community and a great place to raise a family.
I am proud to be one of only a few Orthodox Jewish women elected officials in the United States. I am the only Jewish voice among elected officials in Chicago and it’s important for our community to have representation in the City Council.
Antisemitism and hate crimes are growing problems both across the country and right here in Chicago. I am determined to reverse the trends that we are seeing and ensure the 50th Ward and the City of Chicago are safe places for people of all nationalities and faiths.
I have worked with a variety of organizations to help pass landmark legislation to help working families in Chicago including paid sick leave, minimum wage increases and the Fair Workweek Ordinance. We’ve taken steps to make sure major projects like airport expansion and the casino will support local construction workers and hire locally. I’m very proud of my voting record on progressive-minded issues and my goal is to continue to produce results for the 50th Ward and Chicago families.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
I am laser-focused on how we can make sure our community is safe. I approved a record-high budget for the Chicago Police Department in 2023 and we are working to add to the number of officers on our local beats. I have a strong, collaborative relationship with our police commanders, district, and area leadership. Public safety is a team effort among police, community members, business owners, faith leaders, and neighborhood groups.
I have an open-door policy and I’ve hosted many public meetings with the police department to ensure the lines of communication are open and that information is being shared with the people who need it.
Sum up why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? (Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.)
I have delivered for our community on a level that hasn’t been seen in the 50th Ward before.
Thanks to my advocacy on their behalf, our local CPS schools have received $68 million in additional funding, including major renovations at Decatur and Rogers elementary and playgrounds at Stone and Armstrong elementary.
Since 2011, we have invested nearly $10 million in our parks and added a new park. That dollar figure includes more than $3.5 million in the last three years.
The Devon Avenue Streetscape boosted one of the City’s premier business districts and will help ensure its place as a special and unique regional destination for many years to come. Storefronts are full and business is booming.
In 2020, we opened a $3.4 million bridge that provides a critical link in a trail that stretches from Lawrence Avenue to the Northern Suburbs. That project was initiated locally and funded by dollars from the City, State, and Federal governments. We will soon break ground on another pedestrian bridge project at Pratt Avenue that will connect our community with Lincolnwood. Under my leadership, north-side aldermen are now considering ways to revitalize Western Avenue from Addison to Howard.
These kinds of investments in our schools, parks, and infrastructure do not happen on their own. They are the product of persistence and relentlessly seeking opportunities to help the community and I have the experience and skills to continue this important work.