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: Marty Quinn
Ward: 13th
Current job: 13th Ward Alderman
Previous political experience: Elected 13th Ward alderman in 2011
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology – St. Xavier University
Spouse’s occupation: CPS speech pathologist
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.
The police cannot be the only ones tasked with addressing and fighting crime. We must be innovative and take a holistic approach to fighting crime. This is what I have done in the 13th Ward to combat various crimes, including drag racing that is plaguing the entire city. I held a public safety summit last fall with all the relevant stakeholders – the local police commander, local business leaders, various community groups and residents – to come up with a plan to eliminate drag racing from our ward. As a result, we shut down a known drag racing hotspot – a parking lot at 71st Street and Pulaski. We constructed gates and barriers that keeps them out, and it has worked.
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.
At the core, we need to support our police with the resources they need to fight crime. We need to do a better job of recruiting and retaining police officers who can keep our streets and transportation safe. In addition, we need to give people access and opportunity. I recently supported the extension of the Red Line to help provide necessary transportation for people to easily and safely get to work each day.
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?
I believe CPS should invest more heavily in communities that have been ignored for too long. In response to the continued enrollment decline at CPS over the last decade, I wrote CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to highlight that we are experiencing the opposite situation in the 13th Ward. Enrollment numbers in our local schools are increasing. I requested that CPS recognize the growing enrollment on the Southwest Side and right-size its budget to include more funding for our local schools.
Since being elected in 2011, I have worked hard to close the equity gap between the schools on the North and South Sides of Chicago. Some of our students are currently on a waitlist for our exceptional schools and programs.
Working with a wide network of community stakeholders, including the Southwest Education Advisory Council, our recent projects include building the new John Hancock Selective Enrollment High School and several new elementary schools. Along with principals and teachers, we have gotten creative and used old school buildings to create Sor Juana Classical Elementary School and make room for a new early childhood education program. We’ve built new modulars and additions at schools throughout the community and instituted IB programs at John F. Kennedy High School and Kinzie Elementary 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.
Bringing investment and jobs to the community is a priority of mine. I believe we need to provide people with access, opportunity, strong educational opportunities and good-paying jobs so they remain Chicagoans for generations. In the 13th Ward, I have recruited millions of dollars in investment to the Cicero Avenue corridor and helped well-known businesses, including Culver’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, open in the area. I recently supported the extension of the Red Line to help provide necessary transportation for people to easily and safely get to work each day. I support increasing the minimum wage. I support new projects for the city – like the Chicago casino – that will not only create jobs but also generate much-needed revenue for the city, its workers and our pension obligations.
Do you support giving Chicagoans property tax relief? If yes, please explain how you would accomplish it. If no, please explain why not.
I believe our budgets have some room to free up funding for property tax relief. I am supportive of zero-based budgeting and identifying bloat that can provide our residents with some relief. I believe we can do more to right-size our budgets and make them more efficient.
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?
I recognize that TIFs serve a purpose, but further reforms are necessary to even the playing field across all parts of the city. TIFs drain resources away from our schools and city services. When it comes to TIFs, there are winners and losers. The 13th Ward is a loser. We don’t benefit from TIFs.
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 pace has been far too slow and needs to speed up. There should be a better action plan for all residents, especially those living in older housing. We need to better prioritize places like Chrysler Village, located in the 13th Ward, which includes some of the oldest housing stock in the city. I look after these residents closely and they should be at the top of the list.
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 have improved the lives of Chicago residents in many ways. My main policy priorities include providing high-quality constituent services and making the 13th Ward a place where people want to move, raise their families and set down roots. This includes creating and supporting policies that ensure our streets are safe, first responders are supported, and strong educational and job opportunities exist. I do this by providing exceptional constituent services. I am the only alderman in the city to operate two full-time constituent services offices. I am currently working with residents to create a new local police district in order to better serve the community. I oversaw nearly $300 million investment in 13th Ward schools, including the first selective enrollment high school on the Southwest Side of Chicago.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
Crime and safety is our top issue. I support our police and am currently working with residents to create a new local police district to better serve the community.
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 champion of the 13th Ward, and under my leadership, the 13th Ward is thriving.
I know 13th Ward residents and their families on a personal basis. I spend time at the doors listening and collaborating with them. I believe in participatory representation. Every decision I make is based on the needs of my constituents.
I provide high-quality, unwavering constituent services. I personally shovel snow and my staff removes graffiti and cleans up shuttered buildings so quickly they rarely can be found in the ward.
I have brought millions of dollars in investment to the community by recruiting numerous businesses to Cicero Avenue and throughout the ward. I am working to close the gap between opportunities for students on the North and South Sides of the city, and brought the first selective enrollment school to the ward.
I believe deeply in the connection between a safe neighborhood and thriving schools and parks. I am the only alderman in the city to have enacted a complete ban of home-sharing services to keep the neighborhood safe. I am working with residents on numerous projects to improve the community, including developing two dog parks – the first of their kind on the South Side.