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

I rely mainly on a car, which pushes me to advocate for better infrastructure, road repairs and replacements, wider roads and highways; hybrid and electric vehicles , and inter-governmental agreements and MOUs for collaborative projects.

What are some transportation challenges in your district?

The most pressing transportation challenges in the 5th District are : the limited number of bus routes in the far south area such as Chicago Heights, Ford Heights, and Park Forest, heavy rail train delays caused by stalled/stopped cargo trains in Harvey, Dixmoor, Riverdale, and South Holland; and the expense of travel. Additional challenges include public transportation safety and the expense of multi-use public transportation (ie. person requiring bus and train to travel to work).

Cook County residents often find their local roadways fall under multiple different jurisdictions and standards. How do you view the County’s role in ensuring consistent, safe, and accessible transportation for constituents?

In brief, as the 5th District Commissioner, member of the transportation committee, and Vice-Chair of the Metra Committee I view our role as the primary catalyst for improvements and implementation. I view our role in both short-, and long- term based on current policies and the efforts currently underway to create best practices that improve infrastructure and transparency without additional burden to the residents. Programs like Invest In Cook and Build Up Cook help us achieve the goals as they are instrumental in ensuring municipalities are actively involved in the decision-making processes to improve infrastructure in their communities, ensuring projects directly impact their residents. The coordination of online resources allow users more real time access to the status and/or conditions of their various means of transportation.

As I am unsure how detailed the response should be, I have also added provided my short and long-term perspectives .

In the short-term we continue to establish county-wide transportation infrastructure that is environmentally friendly, reduces congestion, connects communities, and creates safer passages for bicyclists and pedestrians. We continue to work with the various transportation entities to improve communication and marketing efforts to provide as close to real time information for residence utilizing public transportation. Our design and safety protocols allow for more rapid-responses to maintenance concerns, such as sink/ pothole repairs and accessible curb ramps. We have implemented more traffic studies to initiate targeted safety improvements in high-risk corridors with Vision Zero-style interventions (better lighting, more shelters, more ADA and curb access). The studies also enabled us to properly prepare for road and infrastructure issues that may take place as the result of incoming construction, new developments, and/or large commercial projects that will increase traffic.

We also host regular cross-jurisdiction and modal coordination meetings to discuss shared issues and strategies, project calendars to reduce community impact, and to identify transparent performance reporting methods to keep constituents informed.

Long-term we will continue to coordinate across jurisdictions to standardize design guidelines, improve safety thresholds, and accessibility requirements so residents can rely on more consistent, and create more predictable transportation environments for travelers (ie. EV charging locations). I will continue to support establishing county-wide transportation plans that align with regional networks, prioritizing reliable and sustainable funding, asset management, tangible performance metrics, and hopefully reducing overhaul cost to residents.

Lastly, and possibly most important, continue the ongoing development of unified permitting and inspection frameworks with clear accountability and regular corridor audits, invest in data sharing and interoperability to identify disparities and guide equitable investments, and build resilient infrastructure with long-term funding strategies to account for climate impacts and changing travel habits. This is the cornerstone, in my opinion, of closing the visible disparity gaps in resources and services in underserved communities which are represented by nearly 75% of the my district.

What can Cook County do to stabilize and expand access to bikeshare programs that span municipalities?

As Cook County Commissioner , I will continue to support efforts to standardize bike-share regulations, data-sharing, and payment systems across municipalities to create a seamless regional network that attracts stable funding without increasing costs to residents .

We will continue to participate in shared capital investments (in stations, docks, and maintenance) and prioritize the expansion of services and access for underserved communities..

What role can the County play in bringing funding sources and revenue streams to county transportation projects?

CAs 5th District Commissioner I will continue to work collaboratively with the board and other governing stakeholders to actively identify and advocate for diverse funding sources—federal and state transportation dollars, state and regional grants, and innovative financing tools like tax increment financing or public-private partnerships—to lock in multi-year revenue streams for major projects. I will also champion continuing transparent budgeting, establish matching funds, and create regional coalitions to align priorities, accountability, and ensure measurable outcomes.

Cook County has a history of innovating access to public services, including public transit – such as the Fair Transit South Cook pilot. As commissioner, what are ways you envision the County innovating on transportation?

Specifically, in my district, the development of transportation hubs that expand services and routes for bus and trains to the far south communities is key.