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: Maria Hadden
Ward: 49th
Current job: Alderperson, City of Chicago
Previous political experience: I am the current alderperson of the 49th Ward in my first term.
Education: My B.A. is in International Peace and Conflict Studies from The Ohio State University. My B.S. is in International Public Service Management from DePaul University.
Spouse’s occupation: My spouse is the Senior Research Paralegal for the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility
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.
Research tells us that addressing root causes of violence is the best way to reduce it through prevention-first strategies. This includes investments in our infrastructure to improve neighborhoods, economic development initiatives to create opportunities for people to support themselves and stabilize families, investments in schools and other public institutions, and intervention and social service programs to work directly with those most likely to be victims and/or perpetrators of violence. I’ve been supportive of our city budget investments in violence prevention programs and development initiatives like Invest South/West, however, we’re not doing enough to decentralize and streamline programs like this. In the 49th Ward, I’m working on creating community wealth building opportunities to address the issues we see in our areas with the highest concentration of poverty. We’re building a low-equity housing co-op to provide new, affordable home ownership opportunities to help keep families in the neighborhood and are actively seeking economic development tools for our commercial corridor that borders Evanston and Howard St. to help our small businesses and budding entrepreneurs grow and thrive. Chicago needs to more effectively use our monetary investments to implement replicable projects, such as those noted above, all over the city.
Violence prevention is only part of the equation, however. We also need to see a functional criminal justice system. And we need a policing system that people can trust. That’s why I support police accountability efforts. We need a department and a system that people can rely on to bring justice and to work. The pandemic greatly disrupted a system that is already going through many changes and challenges, and now, more than ever, we need to see police who enforce the laws justly and a court system that holds trials in a timely manner.
Lastly, we need to utilize our existing police resources better. Even with retirements and departures, we spend a large amount of our city budget on the police department. With as much as we spend, there is no reason that neighborhoods should be struggling with slow response times from the police and a lack of beat officers or that officers should be going for more than a week without a day off. City Council has been promised staffing plans and strategies for a more functional department time and again over the last few years and have yet to be given one. The strain on the department is too much. We can and must do better.
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.
CTA needs to provide reliable rules enforcement, cleaning and monitoring of their trains and buses. Many 49th Ward residents rely heavily on the trains and don’t feel like there is enough CTA staff presence, especially when there is an issue or problem. The additional security they’ve hired is helpful, but what we need to see is an enforcement of rules, conductors or some other staff walking the train cars during operation and making sure that the experience is a good one. The Red and Purple Line modernization is going well and I’m a supporter of the Redline extension project as well. I’d like to see CTA continue to aggressively pursue federal funds for further improvements especially around accessibility for persons with disabilities.
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?
On one hand, the declining enrollment is tied to our declining population overall. People have been leaving Chicago, especially people with children. The investments in affordable housing for families, safer neighborhoods, and a cleaner environment are key to retaining our families and supporting new ones. But a key factor in the decision-making for people with children about where they live is the quality of the schools and the opportunities available for their children. The inequitable maintenance and funding of CPS schools has been a decades old problem to manage, with their leadership having to create increasingly elaborate processes and initiatives to correct for the failure of previous leaders. I believe that the only way to stabilize CPS and save what can be a world class public education system filled with talent at every level is to move back to a neighborhood school enrollment model. Get rid of the school choice program that places parents and students in a high stakes, high stress, hunger games-type system of competitive placement. It also creates a terrible environment for administrators, teachers and staff who have to not only be educators, but marketers. CPS could better manage their capital and program budgets as well as better plan for the population changes that inevitably happen in the city. It’s also a better way to ensure equity in schools, city-wide. Consistency in the experience and resources for each school means predictability and higher quality overall. That’s what parents and students look for and what will bring stability.
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.
Public financing of homeownership for Chicagoans. Communities need opportunities for ownership. Private financial institutions and local governments have historic and current practices and policies that relegated Black Chicagoans to the South and West sides of the city, and then robbed people of their homes and their equity. In our current economy, this issue of a lack of access to affordable paths to home ownership is especially trying for those in the millennial generation and younger, and it disproportionately impacts people of color. The City owns so much of the land. We should build housing and create incentives and financing for buyers to attract more people to the South and West sides in order to help stabilize our neighborhoods.
Do you support giving Chicagoans property tax relief? If yes, please explain how you would accomplish it. If no, please explain why not.
Yes. Some communities, like the 49th ward, saw big increases in tax bills. Many homeowners in my community live on fixed incomes and can’t afford big jumps. I think that we should have a tax relief program for homeowners who have been in their homes for 5 years or longer and who have incomes at or below 300% of the poverty line and who saw their tax bills significantly increase. This is short term relief, but would help people still recovering from pandemic economic hardships to stay in their homes and manage the increase.
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?
In prior administrations, TIFs were used inappropriately and to the detriment of the public institutions whose tax funds were being siphoned off. Having worked with local governments around the country, I can say that TIFs are not controversial when used the right way. I believe that the regular surplussing of TIFS and more transparent reporting around them has been a step in the right direction, but I still think that we should end the practice of creating TIFs in high-end neighborhoods and the downtown district. TIFs should be reserved for areas in desperate need of economic development only.
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, the lead service line replacement should be expedited. In my opinion, one of the current problems with the city’s lead service line replacement program is that we’re relying heavily on the property owner to initiate the replacement. While there is an equity program that will pay for most of the replacement for owners who are at 80% or below the Area Median Income, the homeowner still must apply and be accepted in order to take advantage of the program. I think the City should strategically set replacement goals for each community area and proactively seek participants in the programs.
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.
Coming into my first term, I had more than a decade of professional experience working with local government and communities on participatory decision-making processes and 16 years of experience as an engaged, active resident of the 49th Ward. I began with strong connections to schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations and neighbors and my first 3.5 years have only deepened those connections. I serve the constituents of the 49th Ward, ethically, transparently, accountably and responsively. I am an accessible public servant and have worked hard to expand access to my office to all of the constituents of the ward. My professional background as a nonprofit executive, process designer, and conflict manager has also provided me with a well-rounded set of skills that allow me to run a strong ward office, advise my community, and establish myself as a competent and effective legislator in City Council. I have worked to build good relationships with my colleagues and am proud to have passed many pieces of legislation during this first term. It is hard to balance the priorities of the ward and those of city hall, and I believe I have managed to excel at both.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
Housing affordability and climate response. The geography of the 49th Ward is predominantly the Rogers Park neighborhood. We have long been one of the most affordable places to live in the city, especially on the north side, but that’s been changing. We are also approximately 75% renters. In some wards building more housing would be the simplest solution, but we have very few opportunities for new construction in our area because of our existing density. To compound the issue, much of the rental stock we have available is old and needs capital investment, and much of it is owned by aging landlords who are selling their property. The new owners make the capital investments and often this causes displacement of the current tenants. Those that can stay often aren’t able to afford the new, higher rents. To address these issues, in addition to supporting new affordable housing development in the ward, I’m also advancing the low equity co-op model of housing to create additional, more accessible paths to homeownership. The low-equity co-op model can create stable housing for renters without the large financial burden of a mortgage. This model will provide co-op owners opportunities to own shares and democratically control their housing while often paying less than the market-rate rent equivalent. We are working on a 30-40 unit development now and I hope that it will be a model for the city.
On climate response, my first term has been marked with responses to climate-related crises and tragedy. The record high levels of Lake Michigan combined with a strong winter storm season threatened homes and roads and all but erased three beaches from our ward in 2019-2020. A tornado devastated a good half mile of Rogers Park in August of 2020, damaging homes and destroying a lot of our tree canopy. Three elderly women died in their homes during a May 2022 heatwave that heated their apartments to over 100? because the air conditioning wasn’t turned on. And in September of 2022, 98% of the ward flooded, with many garden apartments and basements being impacted and residents having to bear the financial burden of restoration without financial aid. My constituents know the impact of climate change firsthand and expect the city to come up with solutions. I’ve led on fossil fuel divestment and been a lead advocate for a new department of environment for the city. I plan to accomplish this in the next term because Chicago needs centralized planning and leadership on climate-related issues; we can’t just continue to respond to crises after they happen.
Sum up why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? (Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.)
There is no other candidate who can serve our constituents as competently, compassionately, and effectively. There are no other candidates with the roots in our community, personal experiences and professional capacity to juggle the many priorities and represent the diverse voices that comprise the 49th Ward. In this first term, I’ve made progress on every issue constituents prioritized in 2019 and have kept every promise while bringing additional transparency and accountability to the office of 49th Ward Alderperson. I know that in my second term, I will be able to build on that foundation for even more success and growth for our community.