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: Marianne Lalonde
Ward: 46th
Current job: Senior Program Manager, Resource Innovations
Previous political experience: Not answered
Education: B.S., Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, 2009; PhD, Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2015
Spouse’s occupation: Not answered
Sources of outside income: Not answered
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.
Every Chicagoan deserves to feel safe. We need government leadership that holds police accountable, pushes back against failed “tough on crime” talking points, and works to implement impactful crime reduction strategies. When someone commits a crime, they must be held accountable. And if they serve time, they need access to employment opportunities, education, and housing to prevent recidivism. I endorse immediately hiring and deploying civilians to take over the paperwork, exploring the use of non-sworn personnel for things like traffic enforcement, and freeing up officers for detective work, enabling CPD to quickly deploy officers in response to calls and also increase the case clearance rates. Finally, investment in non-police services is needed. Passing the Treatment not Trauma ordinance will ensure mental illness, substance use disorders and homelessness are addressed by supportive services as opposed to police. I also want funding to be put into housing, jobs programs, and public schools so the root causes of crime are addressed and in turn crime will be prevented.
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.
In conversations with voters in the 46th Ward, people consistently tell me that they are frustrated by the CTA’s recent performance. Improving the quality of CTA will be dependent on staffing. The City of Chicago can partner with City Colleges of Chicago, UIC, and others to create job placement programs to better recruit a diverse group of people to work CTA jobs. Improving the number of CTA workers will in turn make service much more reliable. This will increase ridership and result in a safer CTA. As staffing is brought back to pre-pandemic levels, CTA should also bring back civilian conductors which were eliminated in 1998 as a cost-cutting measure. Having an authority figure like the conductor walking back and forth between cars would be a major crime deterrent and the staffers would have the ability to contact police in case of an immediate safety threat, or connect unhoused individuals to social services. They would also be great for encouraging compliance with rules against littering and smoking on trains. Allowing CPS students to ride free would also increase ridership.
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?
All children in Chicago deserve the opportunity to attend a high-quality neighborhood school that meets their needs. Improving school resources like course offerings, special education resources, and quality of education will help alleviate low enrollment. Investing in schools as community hubs, and creating relationships between the school, parents, residents, and local businesses, will increase local awareness of everything the neighborhood school has to offer. Given the size of CPS, our school district should be able to offer specialized programs and resources that are not available in other school systems or private school settings.
The city council should also ensure that people are not priced out of the city and have to move. For example, in elementary schools in the 46th Ward, enrollment can also be improved in the short-term by increasing the volume of affordable family-sized housing near the school.
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.
As a sustainability professional, I want to ensure that the changing economy and climate means green jobs are created in the city, but especially on the South and West sides. Adequate investment in both training and apprenticeship programs for new demands like weatherization, electrification, and ensuring good air quality in school and healthcare buildings will also provide forward-looking infrastructure improvements. Environmental injustice in Chicago predominately impacts South and West side neighborhoods. Black and Latinx residents are more likely to live close to industrial pollution and have chronic health conditions, such as asthma, and the impacts of climate change are likely to exacerbate these problems. Green Era Campus in Auburn Gresham is one example of how investing in sustainable economic development can provide workforce development in the clean energy economy, a much-needed source for fresh produce within a food desert, and inviting green spaces for residents of all ages. These efforts replicated on a larger scale can have significant impacts for our South and West side neighbors.
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 giving Chicagoans property tax relief. The Cook County Assessor’s office has made great strides in reducing fraud in the last few years, but more must be done in order to ensure equity in our property tax system. The amount residential taxpayers pay does not only depend on the assessment of their property, but on the assessments of other properties. One thing City Council could do is share water usage data with the Assessor’s office to prevent vacancy fraud. Increased data sharing and transparency will ensure a higher level of accuracy in assessments, reducing the burden on residential taxpayers by making sure large corporations are paying their fair share.
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 formation of TIF districts was well-intentioned, but the system has been abused. I fully support the Chicago City Council’s Progressive Caucus’s move to take a more active role in controlling the TIF funds. TIF should only be used in areas that are blighted, vacant and/or obsolete, and areas where the project could not move forward financially but for the requested TIF subsidy. TIFs should be prioritized for projects that serve the entire community – for example, public schools and parks, versus private developments. I also want to “surplus” on an annual basis any existing TIF funds that have not been pledged, earmarked, or otherwise designated for active or anticipated redevelopment project costs. Positive examples of TIF districts in the 46th ward are the Wilson Yards and the Red/Purple Modernization TIF districts, which have both been used to serve the entire community through adding affordable housing, thriving businesses, and accessible transit access. The Montrose/Clarendon TIF district was inappropriately used to subsidize luxury housing.
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?
The pace of lead service line replacement should be expedited. It is unacceptable that the city has been granted $15 M to replace 650 lead service lines by the end of 2021, and as we enter 2023, only a fraction of those have been replaced. Delays to service line replacement have two primary causes: cost and homeowner education. Homeowners need to be aware of the risks they are currently experiencing by making lead contamination data publicly available as it was when public fountains were sampled between 2000-2010, as well as making homeowners aware of potential reimbursement opportunities. In many cases, the city will require homeowner permission in order to conduct a full service line replacement that crosses into privately owned land. In terms of cost minimization, we can look to examples in other cities where successful service line replacements occurred in the past. In Madison, WI service line replacements conducted between 2000-2012 cost an average of $3.5k per connection without increasing city water rates, while in Chicago the estimate is currently $15-20k per connection. I additionally support the efforts in Springfield to pass legislation to automatically grant a variance for the Plumbing Code separation requirements that would reduce pavement excavation costs when replacing service lines.
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 believe my background as a scientist and community activist puts me in a unique and great position to best represent the people of the 46th Ward. I hold a PhD in chemistry from Northwestern University where I studied carbon dioxide capture, worked as an energy and environmental policy advisor in the US Senate, and more recently as a program manager for the largest energy efficiency program in Northern Illinois. In light of the recent pandemic, it’s more important than ever to have scientifically trained representatives at every level of government – to protect public health, promote infrastructure resilience in the face of climate change, and work as problem solvers in areas of equity, safety, and economic prosperity. It is also crucial that we have a sustainability expert on the City Council when the city has lacked environmental leadership since the closure of the Department of the Environment in 2011.
At the same time, I am a proud 46th Ward resident and have worked tirelessly with my fellow neighbors to improve our community. I’ve served on the Associates’ Board of Sarah’s Circle, the North Lake Shore Drive Study Task Force, as a member of advisory committees at Clarendon Park and Uplift High School, and am a former block club president. I have led efforts to save the Wilson on/off ramp to DuSable Lake Shore Drive and protect the Montrose Beach panne habitat. Just as in my community activism, I will be spending this election reaching out to all 46th ward residents to share my vision for an effective government built on mutual respect, collaboration, and unity.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
The most pressing issue in the 46th ward is the increasing prevalence of homelessness. It’s essential that we house people currently residing in the tent cities and set them up for success. It is far more expensive to address homelessness and associated issues like mental health and substance abuse through jailing or hospitalization. A “housing first” strategy is both more effective and a lower cost solution for taxpayers. We need to add additional shelter resources, expand the criteria to qualify for affordable housing, and simplify the housing application process.
Sum up why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? (Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.)
In our field, I am the only candidate with a history of community activism in the 46th ward that ranges from progressive organizing in Uptown to park access and transportation issues in Lakeview. I uniquely understand the diverse needs of the 46th ward, and am grateful to run in one of Chicago’s most amazing, multicultural and supportive neighborhoods. I take the pragmatic approach of a scientist to problem-solving – putting data and shared values over politics. My logical and rational approach means I have zero-tolerance for corruption and pay-to-play politics. By electing me over my opponents, voters won’t be forced to make a choice between maintaining diversity and affordability and advancing economic development in the ward – we can make the 46th ward the ward that has it all.