What types of transportation do you use during an average week, and how has this shaped your view of transportation policy?

I take the Red Line from the South Side into downtown for work. That's my daily reality. But I also drive a lot because I have a one year old daughter, and as a family we're on the road constantly, whether it's the suburbs or west of the city. My wife is from Florida and when we first started dating, she didn't feel safe on the train, especially at certain times of day. That stuck with me. I grew up taking the CTA. It's second nature to me. But for a lot of people, it's not, and that gap between who feels safe using public transit and who doesn't is a policy failure, not a personal one.

What are some transportation challenges in Illinois?

Reliability and safety on the CTA are the two that hit closest to home. If people don't feel safe, they won't ride, and then we lose the argument for why transit matters. Beyond that, the conversation about transportation in this state tends to be Chicago versus downstate, and that's a false choice. Rural communities have transportation needs too. They're just invisible in the policy conversation. Accessibility is another one. We have systems that don't connect well enough, gaps that force people into cars when they shouldn't have to be, and communities that simply don't have options.

How do you view Congress’s role in setting priorities for public transit, passenger rail, and strengthening accessibility in transportation?

Congress has to lead. The federal government is the only entity with the scale and the resources to make the kind of investment that actually changes how people move through this country. We did it with the interstate highway system. We built an entire infrastructure around cars and made it a national priority. We never matched that energy for public transit, passenger rail, or accessibility. That's a choice, not a limitation. Congress needs to make a different choice, one that invests at the same level in transit, rail, and accessibility as we did in highways, and that includes rural communities, not just cities.

What’s your position on the Federal government and Illinois’ current transportation infrastructure spending, and if you could change anything, what would it be?

The federal government is dismal when it comes to transportation investment. We are falling behind what this country needs, and Illinois feels that. On the state side, I was glad to see Illinois step up and put serious money, over a billion dollars, into the CTA and RTA system. That was necessary. But Illinois is working with one hand tied behind its back because of our flat tax structure. It's hampering what the state can actually do. If I could change one thing at the federal level, it's the scale of investment. We need interstate highway era commitment, but directed toward transit, bus lines, and rail, not just roads.

What is your position on investing to expand passenger rail service in Illinois, including the development of high-speed rail?

Yes. Full stop. Transportation is not just an urban issue and it is not just a suburban issue. It's a rural issue too, and passenger rail is one of the biggest tools we have to connect communities that have been left behind. Illinois has the geography and the need for expanded rail service, and high-speed rail would change the economic landscape of this state. The investment is there if the political will is there. I have the political will.

Federal funding for Illinois transportation projects – such as the Red Line Extension and Red-Purple Modernization projects – has come under threat from the Trump administration. How do you plan to shore up funding for critical infrastructure projects under a hostile federal climate?

These projects are community investments, and the funding tied to them needs to reflect that. Local hiring, real training, certifications that build careers, not just one-time paychecks. When a project is done, the people who worked on it should be able to walk into the next one. That's long-term thinking. On the funding threat itself, the president does not control the budget. The president does not control appropriations. That is Congress's job, and when the president violates that, it's not something we look into. It's something we hold accountable. Impoundment is unconstitutional. I believe it rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors and is a legitimate basis for impeachment. The House needs to impeach. Senate committees need to be aggressive with oversight, subpoenas, and hearings. We drag OMB and this administration into the public and we make clear: you do not get to redirect what Congress has funded.

Our streets have become increasingly militarized in the past several months as the Trump administration has ramped up DHS and ICE activity in our cities. This past summer, Congress voted to increase the ICE budget larger than most of the world's militaries.

What is your position on ICE and related immigration enforcement?

I support abolishing ICE. The agency has a culture of cruelty baked into its DNA and no amount of reform fixes that. What we need is constitutional protections for every person in this country regardless of status. Warrant requirements. Right to counsel. Real judges. No one should be grabbed off the street, raided at work, or detained without judicial authorization. Immigration violations do not suspend the Fourth Amendment. And Congress voting to fund an enforcement apparatus bigger than most militaries while communities are being terrorized is not a budget decision. It's a values decision. I reject it.