Priorities — Bennett for 44

Public Safety

Transportation

Accountability

Business Development

Affordability

Planning Lakeview’s Future

Public Safety

I am committed to ensuring safe streets and neighborhoods for the 44th Ward and the broader Lakeview community. During my tenure, we’ve worked closely with the 19th District Police, the State’s Attorney, and our neighbors to improve safety across the Ward.

Our court advocacy program has played a key role in securing convictions and greater pre-trial monitoring measures in high-priority cases involving repeat violent offenders. And as we’ve seen, major crime in the 19th District is trending downward.

In partnership with CPD, my office has hosted events to distribute catalytic convertor theft-prevention tools and steering wheel locks. My office works with local residents to distribute “We Call the Police” and “No Loitering” signs to help address problem locations upon request. We also continually run donation drives for clothing to domestic violence victims, winter coats for families in need, and food to pet owners.

In coordination with the 19th Police District, we’ve added additional cameras and license plate readers in our neighborhood to help enhance safety for residents long term.

Transportation

Our community has a well-balanced mix of transit options - from our Brown/Red/Purple line stops, to our many bus lines, to our lakefront bike trail and pedestrian-friendly streets. It is a priority to maintain and improve this infrastructure throughout our community by keeping strong public transit options, as well as safe and sustainable options to walk, roll, and bike.

Safe biking infrastructure remains a priority for me and my office, and in the last year we have installed 10 Divvy and E-scooter docking stations in the Ward. We’ve also completed the Grace Greenway, and installed additional bollards and bump-outs to increase pedestrian safety.

I’ve also overseen the CTA Red-Purple Modernization project in our Ward to decrease the daily delays that riders experienced due to bottlenecks at the junction of the Red, Purple, and Brown lines. With this modernization project in place, the CTA can service 7,200 more riders per hour. I will continue to advocate for improvements of our L stops, to keep them clean and safe, and work with higher city officials to hold the CTA accountable for buses and trains running on time.

Accountability

In fostering transparency and accountability within the Ward, it is important for the community to have a voice in neighborhood issues. Since becoming your Alderman in 2023, I’ve created two advisory councils within the Ward, to allow residents to provide feedback on projects (or what they’d like to see) happening within the Ward. I have also worked closely with our Ward’s various neighborhood associations to connect community members to already-created infrastructure to remain involved in their communities. These associations help me make decisions that are best for our community, and the public’s input is invaluable in making those decisions.

Business Development

The 44th Ward is a vibrant hub for small business activity, and my office has worked hard to cut red tape for residents wishing to open up their own businesses within the Ward. Just this past year, we welcomed nearly 100 new businesses to the Ward. We also have secured $1.5m in grants for neighborhood institutions over the last three years to keep our community growing.

I will continue to encourage transit-oriented developments that contribute to the vibrancy of our community and make it easier for residents to open their own businesses. I will also continue to support programs like Dine Out on Broadway that brings thousands of visitors to the Ward every year, and ideally expand the program to other blocks and weekends throughout the year. In the last four years, I have worked to reduce permit wait times and cut red tape for our residents, because a slow government should never be the barrier between someone’s dream of running a small business.

Affordability

Lakeview thrives with a diverse housing stock that creates livable options for residents, and it is essential that we preserve our existing affordable housing options - both subsidized and naturally occurring. As your Alderman, I fought against developers trying to tear down LGBTQ+ affordable units and worked in City Council to financially stabilize the building to ensure residents weren’t left with nowhere to go. I have always held developers accountable to build affordable units, and remain committed to ensuring every new development has a percentage of affordable units, built on the developer’s dime.

The density of our neighborhood is one of our greatest strengths. I support transit-oriented development to enhance our pedestrian and commercial corridors and will work to maintain the character and scale of our neighborhood side streets. This also means working to preserve significant structures in our community and encouraging rehabilitation and adaptive reuse whenever possible.

Planning Lakeview’s Future

As your Alderman, I’ve worked to develop the first community plan for Lakeview in nearly 20 years, built on the suggestions, feedback, and requests of our constituents. Through this process, we outlined what our residents want to see more of, and released concrete action items and next steps on how we plan to make your vision our reality.

You can read the complete 44th Ward Community Plan here.

I have focused my tenure on balanced development and density within our community, making sure that Lakeview remains a place that attracts new residents, tourists, and visitors. Our neighborhood deserves to be walkable, transit-oriented, affordable, and safe, and I have worked tirelessly to make sure it is. With four more years as your Alderman, I can continue the work to keep Lakeview as the best place to live, visit, and stop through.