Our Vision for Chicago

Solution-oriented priorities to get our city moving forward

Grow Our City and Economy

We need to encourage new businesses to choose Chicago and make it easier and more affordable to build and grow a business in the city. From small businesses to large corporations, a relentless focus on supporting and growing business is key to our city's success.

Key Ideas:

  • Support small and large business growth with reduced red tape and government efficiencies that accelerate the speed to market
  • Invest in infrastructure projects that attract people and businesses to Chicago
  • Partner with industry and academic institutions to develop workforce training programs for the growing and emerging jobs of the future
  • Attract premier national and global companies to establish a presence in Chicago
  • Support minority and women owned enterprises to grow business ownership diversity across the city
  • Ensure economic development benefits all communities equitably

Great Schools for Every Family in Chicago

We need to refocus our collective attention on students. This means supporting them and their families so that they can reach academic outcomes that set them up for success and give them robust choices and pathways as adults.

Key Ideas:

  • Put students first and make student academic and social success our most important metric
  • Improve the abysmal 30% chronic absentee rate to make sure students go to school
  • Partner with communities and stakeholders to have open and supportive conversations about the future of each of our schools
  • Create partnerships between schools and local businesses for career pathways

A City Budget Without Reckless Debt

We need a sustainable and responsible city budget that focuses on the long-term financial health of the city, not short-term politics. This will be incredibly hard, but it is imperative to restoring the city's ability to effectively run the government, support the economy, and create an affordable and desirable place for people to live and raise their families.

Key Ideas:

  • Partner with unions, city council, and the state to improve pension funding levels over the long-term
  • Work to freeze and lower property taxes for all Chicagoans and businesses
  • Focus on reducing spending to create long-term fiscal stability
  • Re-establish faith and financial confidence in the city in the municipal bond markets, capital markets, and credit markets

Build More Housing for All Chicagoans

We must build significantly more housing in Chicago to address the widening housing affordability crisis. Every Chicagoan deserves a safe, affordable place to call home while working to ensure residents are not displaced from their neighborhood.

Key Ideas:

  • Increase affordable housing units across all neighborhoods
  • Increase existing housing stock through rehabilitation of distressed properties and leverage vacant and foreclosed properties to boost housing supply
  • Incentivize private development of housing through reduction of red tape, ensure faster permitting, and lower the cost to build in Chicago

Public Safety & Crime

Implement a comprehensive approach to public safety that addresses both immediate security needs and underlying social and economic factors.

Key Ideas:

  • Increase community policing and build stronger relationships between law enforcement and neighborhoods
  • Invest in violence prevention programs and youth outreach
  • Support mental health crisis response teams
  • Implement smart technology for crime prevention and investigation
  • Address root causes of crime through economic opportunity, mental health services, and social services

Population Growth

Chicago used to have 3.6 million residents and we have to reverse our population decline in order to thrive and reach our potential as a city. Growing our population is a key pathway to making the city more vibrant, dynamic, safer, and more economically healthy for all.

Key Ideas:

  • Boost tourism, convention, and business-related short-term visits to Chicago to increase exposure and love for our city, especially in late Spring through fall seasons
  • Partner with industry and academia to bring people to Chicago for mid-term stints in the city for deeper exposure and integration
  • Create, host, and put on more iconic cultural and entertainment events at both existing and new world-class venues, theaters, and stadiums
  • Create sustainable welcome and integration initiatives for new residents to make it easier to move here including streamlined government registrations across city, county, and state systems

Climate Transition Planning & Clean Energy Production

We need to lead in environmental protection, planning for the changing climate, and creating more clean energy to fuel industry and people's lives in a sustainable and low-cost way.

Key Ideas:

  • Accelerate the transition to clean and renewable energy while increasing supply to keep costs low and household budgets manageable
  • Improve air quality and finally commit to lead-free water in all neighborhoods for all residents
  • Expand green spaces and parks, plant more trees, move city to native plants where possible

Transportation & Infrastructure

Revamp CTA operations with a focus on speed, reliability, and safety.

Key Ideas:

  • Improve CTA reliability and expand service to underserved areas
  • Invest in bike infrastructure and pedestrian safety
  • Modernize transportation technology and payment systems
  • Ensure all transit options are accessible to people with disabilities
  • Reduce traffic congestion through smart city initiatives

Youth Opportunity & Violence Prevention

Create opportunities for youth enrichment through after-school programs, improved access to youth sports, vocational training, summer jobs, internships/externships, and mentorship.

Key Ideas:

  • Launch youth development hubs and public-private partnership initiatives
  • Expand after-school programs and youth sports access
  • Provide vocational training and summer job opportunities
  • Create internship and externship programs
  • Establish mentorship programs to support youth of all ages

Position Chicago as a leader in industries of the future

Chicago is strategically positioned geographically, with a diverse economy, and strong academic institutions to continue to attract top talent and capital to innovate and create new technologies to keep us at the competitive edge of the global market.

Key Ideas:

  • Invest in existing innovation hubs, research centers, and foster opportunities in emerging technologies and industries
  • Invest in technology education and workforce development to prepare students for jobs of the future
  • Attract venture capital and private equity dollars to Chicago while making it easier and more affordable for startups and tech companies to launch and grow here
  • Ensure emerging technology such as quantum, clean energy technologies, and AI benefits communities and individuals across the city equitably

Support Our Vision for Chicago

Join our campaign to make these policies a reality for every Chicagoan in our world-class city.

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