1. How will you commit to spending more time educating the public on the MWRD?
I believe community education and engagement is essential to the future of MWRD. I grew up in a home on the far south side of Chicago that frequently flooded during storms. I can remember what a burden that was on my family. Educating communities on the role that MWRD plays to reduce home flooding and protect public health is a very personal cause for me. If re-elected, I will continue to promote public education and community outreach efforts. Residents need to be aware of what MWRD does and how important it is for the public to participate as well. Educating the public on actions such as using a rain barrel to capture rain water, or to not use appliances during rainstorms, are small but important efforts that would help to keep excess water out of our water ways and out of our basements.
Developing and expanding innovative programming to engage communities, particularly young people, in how water interacts with their daily lives and their role in water preservation will be important to reducing water waste and raising a new generation of environmentalist. We can learn from successful community education campaigns around other environmental issues like recycling to develop effective strategies around water issues. I commit to spending as much time as necessary to achieve these goal. This is an important role as a Commissioner as we face increased rainfall and flooding issues across Chicago and Cook County.
2. What are your plans to institute stormwater management initiatives to save low income communities, particularly homeowners, from flooding related damages?
Stormwater management is crucial to protecting our waterways as well as our homes. This is particularly important in low income communities where resources are scarce. Stormwater management requires a multifaceted approach with both residents and local governments working together to address the challenges we face with the onslaught of climate change. MWRD must do more to prevent stormwater from entering our overburdened stormwater and sewer systems by promoting the expansion of green infrastructure across Cook County
MWRD can also lead the effort to promote green building codes throughout Cook County. I plan to continue to work with suburban counties and villages to adopt model policies that promote permeable surfacing, green building codes and other environmental best practices. Unfortunately, Many disadvantaged communities do not have sufficient funding for construction, repair and maintenance of green infrastructure, especially in the south suburbs. I would support increased MWRD and state funding for projects in these communities.
MWRD can continue to develop watershed and stormwater master plans that, in concert with local communities will help to identify needed stormwater management improvements. MWRD should begin outreach to support local communities to create flow passageways for water in case of flooding which would help protect critical transportation routes. MWRD should take the opportunity to play a leadership role in order to help promote a greener environment across our region.
3. How do you see the MWRD’s role in stormwater management evolving over the course of the next 10 years as we deal with climate change?
With climate change and increased frequency and intensity of rainfall I believe the District needs to increase investment in water infrastructure and green infrastructure plans that would help store more water safely in our neighborhoods and communities during storm events. Urban flooding, like that we experience in the Chicago area is mostly caused by large storm events and excessive runoff combined with a lack of means for water to be safely transported out of the community or stored in the community. Communities can be thought of as bath tubs with a drain connected to them. Just like a bathtub, if more water flows in to a community than can flow out, water overflows and causes flooded basements and sewer backups.
Many communities of color have undergone decades of disinvestment in infrastructure which has led to deteriorated or inadequate water infrastructure for water storage and removal. Increased investments are needed in traditional sewer infrastructure to allow for greater outflows of water and more green infrastructure to increase ability for community storage of rainwater.
4. Do you support investing in green and modern stormwater management infrastructure? If yes, please explain how you’ll work to make this happen.
Yes. Green infrastructure (GI) allows excess storm water to slowly seep into the soil or evaporate into the air, which ultimately reduces the amount of stormwater that enters our sewers and water ways and can help control flooding. GI also offers environmental, social, and economic benefits. It can increase property values, beautify neighborhoods, cool extreme summer temperatures, support natural habitat, create local green jobs, and enhance public space.
When green infrastructure is in place, rainwater infiltrates into the soil and as a result, it slows its entry into the sewer system. I support increased incentives for green infrastructure (including green roofs, permeable pavers, and increased usage of rain barrels) and I will be a strong advocate for conservation education to reduce the amount of water going into the system. We also need to work towards reducing the use of water resistant surface areas.
Additionally, MWRD should consider providing tax credits or rebates for the inclusion of green infrastructure, including permeable pavement, when permits for development or redevelopment are sought under its Watershed Management Ordinance (WMO) so more water can be captured and stored on site.
5. How will your office work to institute public engagement before MWRD leases land to private entities?
As an elected Commissioner for the MWRD, I have a responsibility to serve all its constituents, not just ones with money, power or access. I scrutinize board agendas and look for items that may adversely impact a community. If I see community involvement has been lacking, I ask my staff to properly engage with the impacted community before seeking Board approval. My office will be in regular contact with communities to ensure that they are protected and efforts taken are environmentally just. We must find viable policies that help reduce flooding and pollution and remove burdens from people’s homes and communities.
Moreover, I do not support the sale of land owned by MWRD unless the land is not attached to any of the waterways and will never be needed for District operations. The MWRD should be a better steward of the land currently owned by the district and should require tenants to adopt best management practices for stormwater management and by providing incentives for them to do so. MWRD should also ensure that its tenants are not the source of pollution into the Chicago waterways and sanction those who violate regulations. The MWRD should also have the ability to break leases with tenants who are not being good environmental stewards. Taking climate change into consideration, the MWRD should not make short-sighted decisions like selling its resources for quick cash when that land may be needed for pumping stations or other methods of preventing rising water levels and flooding in the future.
1.How will you commit to spending more time educating the public on the MWRD?
You can imagine that as a doctor of statistics, I have a long history in education. I first trained to be a high school mathematics teacher as an undergraduate. As a graduate student I was a lecturer and teaching assistant for many statistics and mathematics classes at UIC.
As an environmental justice organizer for the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO), I’ve brought in several nationally-recognized experts, including the Flint whistleblower, to my local library to educate the public about the dangers of lead in Chicago’s water. When those efforts failed to educate our politicians, I took direct action and organized volunteers to hand out lead water filters to affected families in Pilsen. In the process of handing out lead water filters, we took special care to educate the public on the causes and solutions to the problem of lead in our water.
As an organizer of the Chicago R User Group (CRUG), a group dedicated to spreading the love of the open-source statistical programming language R, I bring in locally and nationally recognized experts to educate students, job-seekers, and others in the community interested in statistics, computing, data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
As Commissioner of the MWRD, I would continue my efforts to educate the public in public and private forums. That said, it’s important to recognize that not every person has the time or desire to be engaged. The likely audience of a Chicago Votes MWRD questionnaire is likely to be more privileged than the average voter.
I believe most voters want to trust that their elected officials will do the difficult and laborious work of running our society so that they can focus on their lives. Unlike the Democratic candidates, I don’t take money from special interests. I want those less privileged voters to know that I’m working for them too. For better or worse, in the eyes of those constituents, the best indication that the MWRD is doing a good job is that they don’t have to think about us at all.
2. What are your plans to institute stormwater management initiatives to save low income communities particularly homeowners, from flooding related damage
As the Sun Times noted there was a pilot program in Chatham to install green infrastructure that was delayed by the pandemic. Let me tell you about pilot programs in Chicago.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/7/20/21327802/flooding-rain-basements-street-chatham may-weather-311
Back in 2014, I was giving a talk about our “two” neighborhood metal shredders. Afterwards, a man introduced himself and explained there was lead in Chicago’s water. This man, Miguel Del Toral, an EPA employee, went on to become the Flint whistleblower. Before he blew the whistle in Flint he blew the whistle in Chicago. Just like he did in Flint, he leaked his preliminary report to the local press in 2011.
How did Mayor Emanual react to Miguel’s rather obvious findings that running water through unstable lead pipes puts lead in our water? Rahm ignored him for 4 years. After Flint, our problem couldn’t be ignored. Did Rahm immediately call for replacing Chicago’s lead service lines? No. Rahm wanted pilot programs. Rahm wanted more tests. Rahm claimed it wasn’t really a problem. Rahm did everything he could do to not deal with this inconvenient problem; much like he did with the infamous Laquan McDonald tape. I decided to take direct action and organized PERRO volunteers to hand out lead water filters to affected families in Pilsen in an effort to shame the mayor and alderman into acting. The lesson was learned.
The dangers of lead in water have been well understood for centuries. It was understood specifically in Chicago since 2011. Yet, acting on the problem was politically inconvenient. So we got pilots and tests to delay meaningful action.
Similarly, green infrastructure is well understood. Here’s a 13-year old cost benefit analysis: https://semspub.epa.gov/work/02/206365.pdf
It appears as if the MWRD commissioners find it politically inconvenient to their campaign contributors to not have the solution to our flooding be a big engineering solution… so we get delays with pilots. Just like with the lead in our water.
What are we waiting for? Our neighbors can’t wait for next spring’s torrential downpours to flood their basements again. We have solutions! We need action! Now!
3. How do you see The MWRD role in stormwater management evolving over the course of the next 10 years as we deal with climate change?
MWRD engineer Kevin Fitzpatrick was quoted in a fantastic Slate article last year saying, “It’s now clear that this 50-year, multibillion-dollar project (Deep Tunnel) will not be sufficient to stop flooding in Chicago.”
https://slate.com/business/2019/01/chicagos-deep-tunnel-is-it-the-solution-to-urban-flooding-or a-cautionary-tale.html
The author goes on: “The congested network of neighborhood sewers in Chicago and its suburbs—local roads leading to the Deep Tunnel highway—also remain an unresolved issue… the Deep Tunnel is helpless to empty undersized sewers battling against supersize storms and sprawl… Even the system’s original engineers knew that its potential to solve neighborhood flooding would be limited by local infrastructure.”
That’s why I proposed back in February that, “As an expert on data and artificial intelligence, I will bring my technical skills to bear on issues within the MWRD. As commissioner, I will connect the dots between flooding and necessary infrastructure improvements.” I’m happy to see that some of my opponents have reversed course from their WTTW statements and are now echoing my calls for more data and analytics to help prioritize our sewer investments where they are most needed.
Lastly, the Slate article points out that other cities like Milwaukee and Philadelphia are taking a different approach. “If Chicago built a bathtub, Philadelphia is trying to transform itself into a sponge with park space, street trees, and permeable pavement… the MWRD has committed to creating just 10 million gallons of green infrastructure capacity under its EPA consent decree. Compare that to… Milwaukee, [which] now believes its green infrastructure will, by 2035… hold up to 740 million gallons of rain where it falls.”
Why is the MWRD so lethargic in its utilization of green infrastructure? Incentives. When you have big engineering companies making big campaign contributions to MWRD candidates, you get big expensive engineering solutions at the MWRD like the Deep Tunnel. If there were green infrastructure companies handing out big campaign contributions, the Democratically controlled commission might think harder about these alternative solutions. Fortunately for voters, unlike the Democrats, my fellow Green candidates and I don’t take corporate campaign contributions. Our goal is to serve the people of the district, not to act like typical Madigan Democrats by leeching taxpayers for their campaign contributors.
For a detailed list of my opponents’ questionable campaign contributions, go here: https://southsideweekly.com/running-clean-water-mwrd-finances-2020/
4. Do you support investing in green and modern Stormwater Management infrastructure? If yes, please explain how you’ll work to make this happen.
As I wrote above, green and modern stormwater management infrastructure is my solution and an alternative to the big engineering solutions that, not so coincidentally, benefit my opponents campaign contributors.
I believe the incentive to obtain campaign contributions can skew our elected officials’ perspectives on appropriate solutions. So to make green and modern infrastructure a reality, we have to change our commissioners’ incentives. To change our commissioners incentives we need to reform MWRD campaign finance laws. I echo my proposal from 6 years ago to publicly finance our political campaigns.
We now know that while I was writing the above proposal back in 2014, my opponent in that race, Ald. Danny Solis, was in the process of becoming a cooperating witness for the FBI against Ald. Ed Burke. What was Danny Solis caught doing? Engaging in official actions as an elected representative in exchange for campaign contributions.
While not every elected representative is as carelessly explicit in their quid pro quo agreements as Solis was, in Chicago we know that this isn’t necessary. All that’s needed is a big campaign contribution, a wink, and a nod.
5. How will your office work to institute public engagement before MWRD leases land to private Entities?
This is a difficult proposal for the reasons stated above. Not every person has the time or desire to be engaged by the MWRD. The likely audience of a Chicago Votes MWRD questionnaire is likely to be more privileged and more engaged than the average voter. Most voters want to trust that their elected officials will do the difficult and laborious work of running our society so that they can focus on their lives.
As an organizer for the last 6 years in the unique political environment that is Pilsen, I’ve seen repeatedly how “public outreach” gets weaponized by special interest groups to push agendas that go against the prevailing sentiments of the general public.
As Robert Becker and Dan Mihalopoulos wrote in their tremendous Chicago Tribune series, “Neighborhoods for Sale”, “most [politicians] insist they get neighborhood input from community groups or handpicked advisory panels before approving or rejecting projects. What they don’t say is that those groups often are stacked with real estate agents, developers and campaign donors with vested interests in the zoning decisions made by the aldermen.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-code-astroturfjan28-story.html
I’m always happy to attempt the usual methods of outreach; e.g. public forums, community discussions, engaging with local non-profits/government officials, etc. But as someone engaged in Chicago politics for over a decade, I think it’s important to remind privileged progressives that this “community input” is frequently an illusion. Again, most voters want to trust that their elected officials will do the difficult and laborious work of running our society so that they can focus on their lives. Aligning the incentives of politicians with that general public is a more effective method of delivering the benefits that we imagine our attempted public engagement will deliver.
1. How will you commit to spending more time educating the public on the MWRD?
The MWRD has the potential to be a catalyst that transforms the public’s consciousness of how our individual habits and government actions impact our natural resources. As one of the few legislative bodies that serves Cook County at large, the MWRD can be a trusted messenger on environmental and sustainability topics for the over 5 million residents it represents.
Furthermore, the MWRD can continue its trend of setting a national example on how local governments can responsibly manage flood mitigation and water treatment. In recent decades, the MWRD has increasingly adopted innovative technologies that have prioritized public health and sustainability. As the world confronts the existential problem of climate change, the utilization of these technologies have the potential to set a positive precedent for how governments can address the environmental threats that are to come.
For example, the pollution of waterways by plastics and pharmaceuticals is a widespread problem that negatively impacts communities and ecologies. Plastic litter is a visually identifiable issue that government offices have been working to address for decades, but the harm pharmaceutical contamination wreaks on aquatic life and public health are not as well known. As Commissioner, I will push for the MWRD to launch a community engagement campaign to raise awareness of this critical issue and to make responsible pharmaceutical disposable more accessible. It is not a secret that the MWRD has been one of the less visible legislative bodies in Cook County. Regardless, the MWRD has a tremendous impact on infrastructure, local ecologies and public health! As Commissioner, I will engage the public to increase awareness of our impact and how local residents can contribute to the decision making process.
2. What are your plans to institute stormwater management initiatives to save low income communities, particularly homeowners, from flooding related damages?
Environmental justice is a top priority for me — and equitable investment and green infrastructure are critical components of achieving it. Climate disruption is causing more severe and frequent storm events, increasing flooding and causing financial harm to working families.
Low income and historically disinvested regions — which are frequently Black and Brown communities — often have outdated infrastructure that makes them vulnerable to flooding in recreational areas, streets and even homes. Already scarce in needed resources, these communities experience the greatest barriers in recovering from stormwater disasters. Equitable planning can help ensure that green infrastructure projects are implemented where they are most needed. Green infrastructure, including initiatives like permeable pavement, rain gardens, and improved canal routes, can decrease the risk of stormwater disasters happening again and provide the added bonus of green job opportunities for local residents.
3. How do you see the MWRD’s role in stormwater management evolving over the course of the next 10 years as we deal with climate change?
The MWRD is a regional and national leader in modeling how wastewater treatment agencies can be a strong force in pushing for sustainability practices in the face of a changing climate. While the MWRD has made great progress, it has the potential to expand its leadership role by adopting further innovative technologies and increasing public engagement. In my first term as Commissioner, I will focus on the following priorities:
1. Prioritizing equitable investment and environmental justice: As a millennial, a mother and the daughter of immigrants, I have come to see that our current task of addressing the interconnected issues of climate change and racial inequity is one of the biggest challenges that former generations have left to us. In order for our communities to survive and prosper, there must be greater equity in allocating resources and greater opportunity to adopt sustainable practices. The changes we have to make are not just a momentary gimmick; they must be comprehensively inclusive, systemic and permanent.
2. Collaborating with government offices and community stakeholders to create a comprehensive water resource management plan: To meet “green” and “grey” infrastructural needs, wastewater treatment agencies must advocate for increased funding from State and Federal governments to navigate the effects of climate change. Of Illinois’ recent $45 billion capital bill, only $175 million (less than 1%) was allocated for water infrastructure. Securing increased funding will not be easy, which is why it is imperative that local advocates come together to present a plan and ultimately leverage their united voice to negotiate for it.
3. Uplifting and including community voices: The inclusion of Cook County’s diverse populations has been the highlight of my leadership growth from community activist to elected leadership, and an effort I will continue as Commissioner. Across races, ethnicities and identities, we have an abundance of residents whose lived experiences and expertise can ground policy in community needs. I will work to collaborate with local stakeholders to ensure that their voices are heard at the table and reflected in our decision making. I will also work to strengthen our partnerships with our local municipal government.
4. Making data publicly accessible: An updated technology infrastructure can support data sharing and performance based decision making in protecting the integrity of our stormwater systems, our neighborhoods and our regional water supply as storm activity increases and intensifies. As a particularly relevant sidenote, improving data infrastructure can also give advance notice of public health trends, such as the positivity rate of the COVID-19 virus. 5. Engaging and educating the public: As previously mentioned, the MWRD has not been a highly visible legislative body despite its tremendous impact on infrastructure, local ecologies and public health. To truly understand the local impact of climate change and to inform flood and stormwater solutions, the MWRD must engage the public to increase awareness of issues and promote opportunities for feedback.
4. Do you support investing in green and modern stormwater management infrastructure? If yes, please explain how you’ll work to make this happen.
Yes, I absolutely support investing in green and modern stormwater management infrastructure. Among the many ideas I am looking forward to exploring, I would be interested in promoting greater collaboration between the MWRD and the City of Chicago to fund “Green Alleys” through a match grant or other subsidies. Similar efforts could also be taken at the municipal level to provide residents with more cost effective opportunities to adopt green infrastructure improvements in their homes. Furthermore, I will push for increased investment in modern technology that will allow the MWRD to more effectively transmit data within the stormwater district to better (and more quickly) inform management actions regarding flooding and water quality conditions. Technology investments can also support wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) which has the potential to help public health agencies address health outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. How will your office work to institute public engagement before MWRD leases land to private entities?
I would like the Board to revisit the MWRD’s Comprehensive Land Use Policy, which was last updated over a decade ago. Through reviewing this policy, the MWRD can update its assessment of how to most productively use land and implement any new measures that more closely meet the needs of the present moment. This review — and any policies impacting land use — should provide ample opportunity for community education, engagement and feedback.
As the second largest landowner in Cook County, the MWRD must prioritize conservation, habitat restoration, stormwater capture and recreational use in its land management decisions. I would be excited to support equitable land use projects, such as clean job hubs, green stormwater infrastructure, urban agriculture and other forward looking initiatives. Furthermore, I support the collaborating with agencies and community organizations in the strategic establishment of a habitat buffer along riverbanks to support habitat restoration and community driven uses for MWRD property.
1. How will you commit to spending more time educating the public on the MWRD?
I started my career as a public interest clean water organizer and volunteer, educating the public about why we have to take care of our water. Because if we take care of our water, it will take care of us. As a commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, I work to educate the public constantly about our water and MWRD’s job in protecting it for all of us.
2. What are your plans to institute stormwater management initiatives to save low-income communities, particularly homeowners, from flooding related damages?
As an MWRD commissioner, I’ve made it a priority to better protect disproportionately impacted communities. Because of this, we now have a Watershed Management Ordinance that recognizes that some communities flood more than others, and some communities need more help than others. When one of our communities is unable to safeguard itself against flooding, it hurts all of Cook County.
3. How do you see the MWRD’s role in stormwater management evolving over the course of the next 10 years as we deal with climate change?
As MWRD taxpayers, we pay about $40 million in energy bills and we mostly rely on coal, gas, and nuclear energy. Burning coal and gas for fuel contributes to climate change and air pollution. So, we’re actually paying to pollute our air and put future generations at risk. That doesn’t make sense. As commissioner, I’m working to pivot MWRD toward more reliance on renewable (e.g., solar, wind) and recoverable (e.g., biogas from our waste streams) sources of energy. And that will bring our energy bills down in the long run, too. People can learn more at https://camdavis.org.
4. Do you support investing in green and modern stormwater management infrastructure? If yes, please explain how you’ll work to make this happen.
Absolutely. This past May, I introduced a motion that passed unanimously to explore bringing “green infrastructure”—using nature to complement pipes, plants, and pumps to reduce flooding and improve water quality—to suburban Cook County schoolyards. Right now, our schoolyard green infrastructure only exists in the Chicago. We can do more to serve the most vulnerable communities among us.
5. How will your office work to institute public engagement before MWRD leases land to private entities?
As a commissioner, I’ve advocated that we put public engagement requirements into our leases so that communities have an opportunity to weigh in on land uses. We did that recently with a proposed recycling plant on the Chicago River, working to make sure that the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) had the chance to have input on the proposed lease. Private entities and the public are better off when they have the chance to work together. As commissioners, we need to help make those connections.