The Wednesday Journal sent questionnaires to each person running for public office in 2025. The Journal’s questions are in bold and the candidate’s responses are below.
Political experience
This is my first time running for office.
Community experience
I serve on the Civic Information Systems Commission (CISC) where we worked with the village board and the police department to shape critical policies around police surveillance, including implemented the ACLU’s Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) model legislation. I run a local community group called ‘Yes Oak Park’, with the goal of reforming restrictive zoning rules and creating housing abundance in Oak Park. We’ve got an awesome yard sign. I’ve also engaged with the community for years, deep diving into local data sources and producing easy to digest summaries. For example I maintain a 20+ year history of property tax data in Oak Park, and periodically publish trend analyses and breakdowns.
In light of recent incidents of gun violence in Oak Park, how do you plan to prevent gun violence and promote safety?
We need to fully staff our police department, and continue to implement the Alternative Response plan, now called ECHO. This program will strategically deploy non-sworn officers to mental health and non-violent calls for service. This will free up officers to deter and investigate violent crime. We also need to invest in technology and data reporting to promote transparency. I’ve been frustrated for years with the quality of crime data in Oak Park. Good data makes for good policy.
Have the combined levies of Oak Park taxing bodies pushed taxpayers to a point of property tax saturation? What should the response of the village board be to control property tax levels?
Property taxes over the last 20 years have outpaced wage growth. This decreases economic diversity in Oak Park as those who can’t afford it move. Though the village has contributed to that growth, 2/3rds of our taxes are generated by the school systems. That doesn’t mean that the Village shouldn’t watch its property taxes, but its portion of the property tax pie is relatively small. Where the village has significant leverage is in the fact that the majority of its revenue comes from non-property taxes sources: sales taxes, other taxes, and fees. Economic development is the key driver of these revenue streams. The more we increase the revenue from business activity, the less the village needs to rely on property tax revenue.
How will you promote affordable housing development and aid those experiencing homelessness in Oak Park?
I support the affordable housing fund, and advocate for finding recurring, stable sources of revenue so that its fully funded and can regularly contribute to affordable housing in Oak Park. I also support continued funding of Housing Forward, and other partners agencies, to provide emergency housing and other services for those experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is strongly correlated with affordability. Those areas of the country that are the least affordable have the largest unhoused populations. We need to create housing abundance in Oak Park by reforming zoning to increase residential development, allowing new housing that’s appropriate to the scale of what’sclima already in the neighborhood.
What are your thoughts on the proposed Village Hall remodel?
I support both the new police department and village hall facilities. They are much needed upgrades. But the projected total budget for these facilities is eye watering. Funding these top dollar plans will costs millions of dollars more per year than more modest projects. These are millions of dollars we will need in the coming years, as our sources of federal funding vanish. The village board should reset and place a reasonable but adequate budget on these projects, and look for economies of scale, combining the two projects into one larger building.
How will you help Oak Park reach its sustainability goals and are the current goals too ambitious?
I support the Climate Ready Oak Park plan (CROP). It’s a good, comprehensive plan – but its scope and scale is massive. I support the initiatives the board has undertaken to fund the plan, but so far the funding, and results, have been minimal. It’s very hard to see where significant funding for these goals will come from, especially under the new administration. People often say that we cannot address climate change at the local level. But local governments have extensive control over how and where we live – key drivers of our carbon footprint. We should reform zonings laws to increase density. New multifamily buildings will be more efficient, density will drive economic development, increase walkability, and decrease car dependency. Zoning reform, though challenging, is free.
Please add final thoughts not covered in this questionnaire. These responses may appear online.
I am committed to defending the values that make Oak Park a unique and special place, and to defending the vulnerable communities those values protect. We are a strong community, and our leaders have already come together to affirm their dedication to our shared values. I stand with them, and I hope to serve our community with them.