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

I either walk, bike, or take public transit everywhere. I started biking more when bus service became less consistent during the pandemic, and these days because I'm campaigning I do a lot of east-west travel in my district, which would require multiple transfers. When it comes to transit policy, I am hyper-aware all the time of how good bike and pedestrian infrastructure keeps people safe while bad infrastructure keeps us at risk. I also am constantly thinking about accessibility and reliability. Our road and bus route design prioritizes private motor vehicles over public transit, which means that our system is slower and more inefficient overall and harms people with mobility impairments who rely on buses to get around.

In this last week, I have also been reminded of how our current governments do not prioritize safety and accessibility. As I have been canvassing this week, I have noticed huge inconsistencies in how clear sidewalks and roads are. While major roads were plowed within hours of our snowstorms, bike lanes and sidewalks remain full of slush and ice. It's hard enough for me - someone who is usually able to bike and walk quite comfortably - but for people with wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility-assisting devices, it's often not possible to even walk down the street, let alone get to doctor's appointments and the grocery store. Transportation policy must be made with the needs of our entire community in mind, not just people who commute by car.

What are some transportation challenges in your district?

The 13th district is one of the most transit-connected districts in the state, and a majority of households depend on public transit for one or more adults in the household. When public transit is unreliable, my neighbors cannot get to work, school, doctors appointments, or grocery stores. Conversely, improvements to bus and train services, like the RPM project and the recent increases in frequency on the 9 and 81 lines, make the city far more accessible to residents of the 13th district. I am excited to see the improvements we've made to bike infrastructure at the city level, but there are still major gaps in our infrastructure, particularly with IDOT-managed roads like Irving Park Road and DuSable Lake Shore Drive.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) plays a significant role in transportation throughout the state, in Chicago, and Cook County. What is your opinion on their role with the Chicago Department of Transportation, Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways, local communities, and the impact that has?

In general, IDOT has been a laggard in making streets better and safer for transit riders, pedestrians, and cyclists. IDOT-controlled streets, such as Irving Park Road and Broadway north of Foster in my district, have a worse track record on safety. IDOT also has a worse track record on being responsive to public comment and the needs of non-drivers, as clearly illustrated in the planning process for DuSable Lake Shore Drive.

How do you view the Illinois General Assembly’s role in setting IDOT’s priorities for public transit, passenger rail, and strengthening accessibility in transportation?

IDOT’s priorities have focused too much on cars and drivers and not enough on safety or environmental impact. The General Assembly has an important role to play to shift IDOT's priorities toward accessibility, environmental impact, transit, and passenger rail. State legislators can do this both through the General Assembly's oversight role and by pursuing new legislation to direct IDOT's responsibilities and resource allocation. I am committed to pursuing these options in partnership with advocacy organizations.

In a short term, the General Assembly can also influence IDOT’s priorities in other ways. For example, Ald. Matt Martin worked with several state legislators (including former 13th district Representative Greg Harris) to help secure a CDOT-IDOT agreement in 2023 that enabled traffic calming improvements on some IDOT-controlled streets. As a State Representative, I would maintain regular and open channels of communication with local leaders, transportation departments, and transit and environmental advocates to ensure that we are responding to facts on the ground and regularly improving street design

States like Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia have passed legislation that has shifted their transportation infrastructure spending towards projects that prioritize safety, transit and cycling, and greenhouse gas mitigation. What’s your position on Illinois’ current transportation infrastructure spending, and if you could change anything, what would it be?

I am very excited for the generational investments in public transit across the state that was passed with SB2111 during the veto session last month. That said, while that is a good start, there is a lot of work to be done. For too long our transportation priorities have focused on private vehicle throughput rather than safe, equitable transportation planning.

I speak more about this in the below question about federal funding, but I specifically support continuing to use the Transportation Fund (sometimes erroneously known as the Road Fund) to fund public transit and safer road designs.

This fall, the Illinois General Assembly passed a historic investment in transit operations – as well as significant governance reforms in the establishment of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority. How do you view the Assembly’s role in ensuring both the short- and long-term success of this legislation?

I am excited about the opportunities presented by NITA's new system-wide planning and coordination authorities, especially the prospects for single fares and transfer planning across modes. It is high time that Chicagoland's transit agencies moved past competing with each other and worked together. While the Governor and city and county officials will appoint NITA's board members, the buck ultimately stops with the lawmaking authority of the General Assembly to ensure that these reforms work. In both the short-term and the long-term, it is essential that the General Assembly holds regular hearings with NITA officials to track the agency's progress, ensure that it is aligned with statutory priorities, and pursue any necessary amendments to the statute. In the long-term, we also need to ensure that we do not return to the fiscal cliff scenario. In addition to hearings that track the implementation of NITA reforms, the other critical role that the General Assembly needs to play is to secure sustainable forms of progressive revenue that create more overall flexibility in the budget to handle unexpected crises.

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

We absolutely should invest more in passenger rail in Illinois, especially high-speed rail. Intercity transportation is important both for freedom of movement and for economic development both in Illinois and in neighboring states. In addition to building infrastructure that would improve the speed and reliability of current connections and establish new connections, we also need to improve the hub infrastructure in Chicago. This includes express service between Union Station and O'Hare and through tracks at Union Station, along with other recommendations made by the High Speed Rail Alliance.

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 can legislators shore up funding for critical infrastructure projects under a hostile federal climate?

To shore up funding for critical infrastructure projects in the long term, the state must secure sustainable forms of progressive revenue. I support all of the proposals in the Illinois Revenue Alliance's platform and commit to prioritizing this platform as a State Representative. We also need to once again take on the fight to amend the state constitution and establish a graduated income tax.

I also support transportation-specific taxes and fees that encourage transit use and discourage car-centric transportation and commerce. This includes taxes on deliveries by motor vehicles (excluding e-bikes, and with some reasonable exemptions such as pharmacy deliveries, deliveries to disabled customers, etc), weight-based vehicle sticker fees, and a real-estate transfer taxes around transit hubs to support transit-oriented development.