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: Bill Conway
Ward: 34th
Current job: DePaul University, Adjunct Professor/Green Street Renewables Co-Manager/U.S. Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer
Previous political experience: None
Education: MBA – University of Chicago (Finance), JD – Georgetown University, BS Economics – Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Spouse’s occupation: Lawyer
Sources of outside income: DePaul University, U.S. Navy, Green Street Renewables, Investments
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 rise in violent crime has devastated Chicago families and communities, and if we’re going to solve the problem, we must take a “both/and” approach. That means urgently tackling violence in the short term with strategies to solve and deter crime while also making investments that get after the root causes of crime, like poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and mental health.
First, we need to make sure that our law enforcement professionals have the tools they need to be successful, which includes having the proper personnel, leadership and technology. Specifically, I plan to continue to work closely with leaders in the 12th and 1st Police Districts in the 34th Ward. I plan to get their feedback on what we can do from an equipment perspective – be it license plate readers, additional safety cameras, or other resources where Aldermanic menu money could help.
Broadly, the Chicago Police Department needs a cohesive strategy. Right now, because of last minute changes in strategy and the on-and-off again plans such as City Wide units and Tiered Deployments, officers often get their days off canceled on short notice where they are compensated at an overtime rate. As a result, there is at least some subset of officers that can be added without an increase in cost. And we should also add civilians where we can to aid in completion of the Department’s administrative tasks, so that officers and detectives can be on the street solving crimes.
The City also needs to fully embrace Community Policing. Los Angeles experienced many of the problems Chicago is experiencing today in the late 1990’s. Led by Charlie Beck, Los Angeles embraced a community policing model of keeping police in the same districts and rooting out bad officers. As a result, today Los Angeles has less than half the murders that Chicago has. Superintendent Beck tried to bring that model here, but Superintendent Brown quickly abandoned the strategy and the results have been terrible, even when you take into account a nationwide spike in crime during the pandemic.
However, we can’t arrest our way out of all of our problems, and police are only one piece of the solution. In many cases, they are merely a band aid on a deeper problem that will recur if we don’t address it at its roots. The City’s closure of half of the mental health clinics at a time of declining federal funding for mental illness has had a devastating effect on Chicago. We see it in the increase of tent cities and people suffering with mental illness not having access to the help and treatment they need and deserve. I recognize resources are thin, but reversing the course of this should be a top priority.
An innovative idea that should be considered is mobile mental health, which will allow people to get treatment and prescriptions where they are at, as opposed to having to go to a specific location. This would be cheaper and easier to implement than reopening the clinics and could have a more immediate impact.
The City should aim to support successful violence prevention strategies. It’s been reported that last year, just $5 million out of the $85 million that was earmarked for violence prevention strategies was spent. Statistics put out by CRED and others have shown that violence prevention works in reducing crime.
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.
One of the many reasons I am optimistic about the future of Chicago is our excellent public transit system, a sprawling system that covers much of the City and connects many of our diverse neighborhoods. However, currently CTA transit, especially the L, is often unsanitary, unsafe, and unreliable.
We need to make sure the CTA has the proper safety personnel, as Alderman Reilly has been pushing in recent hearings. Compared to our big city peers, we have far less law enforcement on the L. Additionally, we also have to make sure our stations and trains are kept clean, as Alderwoman Lee recently delivered for her Ward.
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?
Most importantly, the City needs to grow our population, which is a large driver of CPS enrollment. This involves improving public safety, creating the conditions for economic development and job growth, and ensuring our City remains a safe and welcoming place for immigrants and others.
When I talk to other parents, I hear their frustration with CPS. They love their schools, they love their teachers and staff, and they love their neighborhood, but they see a lack of resources which contributes to understaffing and overworked personnel, larger class sizes, and buildings in dire need of improvement. Strong schools require strong community involvement, which an elected school board and local school councils can support, though parents can’t bear the entire burden; leadership, partnership, and investment must come from the top.
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.
Broadly, if Chicago is going to succeed everywhere, we need to create good jobs, training opportunities, and a path to create generational wealth for families and communities that have been historically left behind. The clean energy sector in particular provides an opportunity for growth. Encouragingly, Chicago has 1) a skilled workforce and 2) superior renewable energy incentives by way of the state of Illinois and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which prioritizes workforce training hubs in Black and Brown communities. There are also significant incentives in the federal Inflation Reduction Act for solar equipment that is Made in the USA.
Chicago could be a leader in renewable energy growth, specifically the manufacturing of equipment. Chicago was supposed to be the epicenter of cellular technology, and it never quite developed. Here we have another opportunity to be a thought and economic leader in a fast-growing industry while helping to reverse generations of disinvestment on the South and West sides.
The initial steps to making this happen would include 1) host the annual renewable energy conference in Chicago and 2) get a local company to build a factory on the South or West side creating jobs without worsening climate or public health impacts and 3) we broadly foster this industry in Chicago.
Do you support giving Chicagoans property tax relief? If yes, please explain how you would accomplish it. If no, please explain why not.
Yes, I support property tax relief and would not vote for any property tax increases that would force residents or small businesses to shoulder the burden or leave the city entirely. That said, I am mindful of the City’s precarious financial situation so any relief would have to be done in a realistic and fiscally responsible manner.
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?
Recognizing the checkered history the TIF program has in Chicago, I want to ensure that TIF taxpayer dollars are focused on public infrastructure, green space and public schools. However, given the unprecedented economic impact of the pandemic, TIF dollars may be required to rethink our Central Business District, which every major city needs to do. And considering the economic importance of the Loop to Chicago’s future, I am open and advocating expansion of TIF uses for this purpose.
However, it is clear that an increase in transparency and accountability is required, so we don’t repeat the problems of the past.
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 has become a public health crisis, and I want to expedite lead pipe replacement as quickly as possible. Feasible approaches to accomplish this would include 1) allocating resources in the budget for the Department of Water Management to this end; 2) more help from the federal government/EPA; and 3) allowing private partners to begin to replace their own pipes.
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.
My multivariate experience across law enforcement, business, and the military as a Naval Intelligence Officer sets me apart from my opponent and other aldermanic candidates across the City.
An overwhelming majority of Chicagoans recognize that public safety is the most urgent issue we face, so the seven years I spent as a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney prosecuting a wide variety of cases (with a specialty in Public Corruption and Financial Crime), working closely with law enforcement, and holding corrupt government officials accountable has prepared me for this critical moment in our city.
I also have significant financial experience, which is an asset given our City’s precarious fiscal situation. I am currently an Adjunct Professor of Finance at DePaul University and founded a solar energy company, Green Street Renewables, which helps develop solar solutions for schools and other users of power. Additionally, I worked in the Investment Bank of JP Morgan for 3 years.
I earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a BS in Accounting from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Finally, I am proud of my military experience and currently serve as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. I have served as an Intelligence Officer since 2012 and was deployed to Qatar and sent forward to Afghanistan in 2017-2018 and deployed to Germany in 2021. While on deployment, I have been in situations where failure to complete the mission was not an option, and that is valuable when it comes to trying to find compromise with colleagues, regardless of their ideology. If elected, I will be one of very few veterans on the City Council who brings this point of view and experience.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
Public Safety. Across the new 34th Ward, crime is up an estimated 60% in the last year and 40% in the last four years.
In the short term, I would address it by 1) making sure that we have proper police protection to include both staffing and asking the 12th and 1st District commanders what I can do with aldermanic menu money to ensure they have the resources they need (e.g., license plate readers) and 2) advocating for increased mental health funding to address some of the root causes of crime and help those suffering. Our City needs to reopen the mental health clinics that were closed, but if that is not feasible, a mobile mental health clinic that can get those in need the proper treatment and prescriptions should be stood up in short order.
Looking longer term, we need to get after the socio-economic root causes in addition to mental health. This includes strengthening the social safety net in Chicago and creating economic opportunity in neighborhoods historically left behind.
Sum up why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? (Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.)
The 34th Ward is home to the struggling Central Business District, the booming West Loop, and several other vibrant downtown communities like Little Italy, parts of the South Loop, and Greektown. In a lot of ways, the direction of the 34th Ward will have an outsized impact on the future of Chicago. With my experience across government, law enforcement and finance, I have the multivariate skillset to represent the 34th Ward well in City Council. I am uniquely suited to ensure our Central Business District gets the shot in the arm it needs and that thoughtful development can occur in the West Loop while being mindful of the infrastructure limitations and necessary community input. My experience as a prosecutor and Naval Intelligence Officer also equip me to prioritize public safety and get results.
Additionally, the West Loop is filled with young families who were drawn to the community partially by the good schools and hospitality that exists there. As a father of three myself, I can relate firsthand to these constituents and best represent their priorities and concerns on City Council.
Lastly, throughout the last several months, we have spent nearly every day meeting with voters across the new ward to hear their concerns and priorities for our community. As of the end of 2022, I personally have knocked on nearly every door; our campaign has held 20 events in high rise buildings to meet voters, and we have met with nearly every community group. I’ve attended public safety forums with CPD, heard from business leaders, and joined other families at community celebrations. We have built an infrastructure that can listen and be responsive to community needs and hit the ground running come May 15, and I am very proud of that.