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: Andre Vasquez
Ward: 40th
Current job: 40th Ward Alderperson
Previous political experience: 40th Ward Alderperson
Education: Lane Tech High School, Associates Degree- Kaplan University
Spouse’s occupation: Not answered
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.
As Alderperson of the 40th Ward, I have always approached safety in our ward with a proactivity and inclusivity in mind. Public safety is the number one priority for every public office and the highest concern of every neighbor. Every single one of us wants to know that we can make it home safe without having to worry about incidents of crime and violence.
In my time in office, I have worked with every public safety stakeholder including the Chicago Police Department, mental health groups like NAMI, on-the-ground gang intervention teams, and more. What I have learned is that a connected community is a safer community. When our neighbors are informed, they are better able to keep themselves and others safe. That is why one of our priorities has been to provide neighbors with real time alerts about crime and trends in our ward to keep neighbors informed and safe but to also let them know the necessary steps we are taking to address these incidents as they arise.
Throughout my entire first term, the 40th Ward has remained one of the top 5 safest wards in the city of Chicago, I believe this is in large part due to our connectedness. For example, during the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, our neighbor network allowed us to stay in communication and be responsive when people came from the suburbs to loot. Thankfully, we experienced minimal disruption, this is in large part because of our Neighbor Network and our open communication with the 20th and 24th Police Districts.
We have also worked on the root causes of criminality, which we know to be the lack of investment in marginalized communities for generations. Due to intentional racist segregation through policy in Chicago, the inequity had led to communities where there are less opportunities and less hope for our youth. By investing in those neighborhoods, violence prevention, a Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot, and a mobile crisis response unit, we have begun the creation of necessary infrastructure that will help make Chicago a safer place.
Finally, what I have done and will continue to do, is to center policing around accountability. After 100 years of misconduct, racial profiling, and a lack of accountability, the trust in the institution continues to erode. In our current status, I believe that police should serve three core functions – apprehension, investigation, and emergency response. Due to a lack of funding for other departments/programs (non-police crisis response, substance use support, etc.) our city places responsibilities that are not the police’s- onto them, which leads to less public safety. I am also proud to have been an integral part in passing the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) Ordinance, which established the most progressive Civilian Oversight Board in the nation. It establishes a policy making body that can directly investigate and address deficiencies and flaws in our current policing institution and mend the relationship between neighbors and the Police Department. It also establishes District Councils, which gives the public transparency into their police districts. Without transparency and accountability, there can be no trust, so it is up to us to continue holding the Department and ourselves accountable.
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.
There are parts of town that are transportation deserts, but even where we have transportation, it has become less safe, and less reliable. It has gotten to the point that there is terminology that has been created – ghost trains and ghost buses – to describe the situations where people are waiting for public transportation that doesn’t arrive. That’s how often people are being ghosted. To add insult to injury, CTA President Dorval Carter wasn’t showing up to hearings. Thanks to an ordinance I introduced, we were able to move the Mayor to require quarterly hearings from CTA and other agencies.
In looking at other transportation challenges, we see that Chicago is still a very car-centric city. We need to be intentional in making our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. That’s required urban planning that focuses on traffic calming measures, and on creating safer bike infrastructure. In the 40th, we have added bike lanes to Berwyn, a protected Bike Lane to Clark St., and a protected bike lane to Lincoln Avenue. We are also working with our local State Senators to improve Peterson and Ashland as they cut through 40, and are leading the charge on creating a Bus Rapid Transit Route along Western Avenue.
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?
Chicago Public Schools current status comes as a result of decades of austerity measures and narratives that have served to close schools and gut funding to leave our schools ill-equipped and under-resourced. “Reform’ has been used as code to accomplish this. At root, we need a real conversation on what it means to invest in our schools, not only as places of education, but as the community hubs they are. What we need is to create a culture of intentional pipeline building.
We know how much work our teachers and school staff do, and due to the treatment of our school workers, it has made the position less desirable in the perspective of those looking for careers, because it is widely recognized that we don’t have the resources we need in our schools. We need to invest further and as a city official, I will do all I can to lobby our state legislators to do so.
Every school needs the staff, programs, and tools to create healthy communities, as well as the funding to hold job fairs, training programs, and incentivize the considerable talent to apply for these positions.
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.
Something we are currently looking at, is partnering with Choose Chicago to create cross city small business pipelines which could help to bridge some of those divides on a business level.
Do you support giving Chicagoans property tax relief? If yes, please explain how you would accomplish it. If no, please explain why not.
I do support giving Chicagoan’s property tax relief. I believe we should make sure those who make more are paying their fair share. I believe we as city government need to do a better job at a state level to make sure we can identify a former income tax structure so that the government isn’t as dependent on property tax. We should also move forward with real estate transaction tax for properties sold for over $1 million, which would utilize a one time transaction fee to alleviate the pressure on working families and small property owners.
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 the 40th Ward, we have been able to implement the $16M Lincoln Avenue North Streets-cape, The Western Avenue Corridor Studies, other TIF-related projects, and have been working to create more affordable housing in the ward as well.
I would create more transparency for the public around projects that are slated for approval or where funds are set aside, so that we see what the true balances are. I would also set policy that TIFs only be used for affordability, infrastructure, and for public land (schools, parks, etc.). In places like the 40th Ward, TIF can be used to create the affordability that serves to desegregate our city. I also am in support of an annual TIF Surplus going toward the budget.
Overall, I believe we need to take a much deeper look at TIF-funded projects and TIF-districts overall. We should not be funding new projects without guarantee of lasting, substantial public benefit. The TIF process should be transparent, accessible, and accountable, just like the rest of our government.
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 do believe that this pace of lead service line replacement should be expedited. I have an ongoing interest to get regular updates from departments on items like this– Alders currently get a once-a-year briefing as it relates to projects in our own wards, but no insight as to what comprehensive research and development or department strategy is being worked on as a whole. I believe that one way for us to speed up the lead pipe replacement process is to keep Alderpeople informed of the department strategy and execution at every stage, so we can assist in those efforts in our own ward, as well as collaboratively.
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.
Since being elected in 2019, I have committed myself to providing around nonstop service to 40th Ward neighbors. As the son of two Guatemalan immigrants who worked harder than anyone should have to in order to survive, I have experienced what it means when the government isn’t working for the people, and have actively worked to change that.
Over these past years, I have actively brought in our community every step of the way from budget and zoning participation to Neighbor led senior wellness calls, to turning ward service from complaint based systems to proactive based systems.
I am proud to have a reputation as a hard working, on the ground, truth talking, consensus builder and would be honored to continue working with the 40th Ward to move our community forward.
What is the most pressing issue facing the people of your ward, and how would you address it?
The most pressing issue for constituents in our ward, and every ward is public safety. Public safety has been my number one priority since being elected Alderperson in 2019 and we have implemented countless developments since then including:
Successfully leading a large community based team to shovel snow blocked sidewalks during the winter for more accessible streets, installing license plate reader cameras in an effort to address and minimize street crime, working alongside CAPS-Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy, which brings the police, the community, and other City agencies together to identify and solve neighborhood crime issues preemptively, leading a Neighborhood Ward Watch Program to keep our neighbors safe and informed, and again, passing The ECPS-Empowering Communities for Public Safety Ordinance which is the most progressive civilian oversight committee in the country, forming a coalition of community, labor, and faith-based organizations working to hold police accountable and create safe neighborhoods across Chicago.
I plan to maintain public safety by staying accessible to neighbors so that these matters are approached through holistic, proactive, and connected measures.
Sum up why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? (Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.)
Voters should elect me for 40th Ward Alderperson because I have spent my time in office fighting to provide our community with accessible, proactive, and accountable leadership. I am incredibly proud of the work we have done over the past three and a half years. My team and I worked with the community to bring neighbors together in service during the incredibly challenging pandemic, including orchestrating the vaccination of 1560 neighbors. Despite all we have faced, the 40th Ward is in a better place now that it was four years ago. We have a transparent and people-focused office. We have ushered in developments in the ward that prioritize safety, promote the arts, provide affordable housing, bring new retail and infrastructure to the community, improve and increase ward services, and protect cyclists and pedestrians – all with participation and input from neighbors.
While we have focused our efforts on the needs of the 40th Ward, we have also looked to elevate all Chicagoan’s by pushing legislation in City Council that is forward thinking, that protects the rights of workers, and that supports those in our city who most need support.
As proud as we are of this work, we are certainly not resting on our laurels. We are running a disciplined campaign. With a robust and active volunteer base, that grows larger everyday we are making countless calls and knocking hundreds of doors every day.