Campaign Phone
3128848014
Campaign YouTube URL
I'm running to protect Illinois & to push us to nail the basics. I'm driven by serving communities – from the Obama White House to Hope Chicago, supporting South & West Side students going to college debtfree.
I led Rust Belt Rising, training Midwest Democratic candidates to win working families. I served on the Pritzker for Gov. campaign.
I earned a BA & MPA at George Washington U. before building the Harlem Children's Zone's college success program.
I volunteer with the Lincoln Park High School Local School Council & Park West Neighbors Association.
For the past 8 years, I've organized the Indivisible chapter of Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Old Town, engaging neighbors in activism. I am endorsed by our district's local Democratic leaders.
Costs and Housing
It’s become too hard to afford daily needs. I will pursue every avenue to reduce costs. That means passing a cap on property tax hikes, increasing housing by removing barriers to it, taking on health care and child care costs, and increasing fiscal health through responsible budgets.
Protecting Fundamental Rights
We must protect ourselves from attacks by the Federal Government. That means safeguarding reproductive, LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights.
Public Safety
Every family deserves to feel safe in their home, on their block, and in their city. I have a two-step plan that makes policing more effective through technology and training, and addressing root causes like mental health, homelessness, and the flow of guns.
As a Pritzker campaign alum, I worked to pass the fair tax in 2020 and want to try again to ensure the wealthiest pay their fair share. We must also work with all stakeholders on a plan that protects retirement security while charting a sustainable future course on pensions. That includes offering more buy-outs and pre-paying into the pension system for the time value on them. We can pursue township and school system consolidation to reduce overhead. I believe in investing in education so prepare our children for the future, as that's the foundation of a healthy state. That means streamlining funding so it gets into the classroom. We also need to make sure people can get the care they need as the federal government pulls back there.
Given how the Trump Administration is rolling back clean energy, I will help Illinois lead. That means solar permitting standards that increase adoption and rights to build solar, which will reduce emissions as well. I will work to implement the new transit bill with actual experts for a world-class system. I am the Sierra Club's sole endorsee in this race as the environmental champion candidate who believes in conservation and clean energy, especially with threats to wetlands and water, starting with Lake Michigan. I was happy that legislation to modernize our grid with clean energy was passed, but I'd like to keep pushing for transparency and progress with utilities. I will also push for safer streets.
I have a two-step approach to keep us safer:
-first, common sense policies and innovative technology for effective policing to stop violent criminals, while treating those dealing with poverty, addiction, or mental illness.
-Second, investing in housing, mental health, and education to treat root causes while taking on the flow of guns.
Currently the bar to detain stalkers is too high. State's Attorneys should also be able to bring evidence to judges of premeditated, organized, chronic retail theft rings who are exploiting revolving door loopholes that lead to smash and grabs and violence. We also need strong domestic violence prevention gun safety laws. I want to push gun manufacturers on safety measures, as well as taking on traffickers.
Campaign Phone
2242610302
I’m running for office to amplify the daily-life priorities of people, because policies are too often shaped by political convenience, donors, & special interests. I’m a Harvard public policy graduate with an MSc in Math and PG diploma in Human Rights Law. I served as National Voting Rights Lead for the Biden–Harris grassroots coalition, Regional Organizing Director of DPI in collar counties & founded IL Dem Women of Cook County leading women's march, Handmaid's protest to uphold reproductive rights. As the Local School Council Chair, I oversaw school budgets. I don’t walk away from hard fights, be it immigrant-rights advocacy at Broadview to tutoring GED students at Cook County Jail. I bring pragmatic leadership focused on human dignity.
People's daily life concerns shape my top policy priorities.
1) Schools & property taxes: Shift public school funding towards the state so schools aren’t forced to rely on local property taxes. We should save money by consolidating back-office work (payroll, HR, IT) across 850+ districts while keeping local autonomy and put the savings into classrooms and property tax relief.
2) Prevent repeat crimes: focus on repeat offenders and reduce repeat crime with real accountability paired with structured programs like education and job training to stop reoffending.
3) Affordability: Support first-time home buyers with targeted tax credits, and give seniors property tax relief so they aren’t pushed out. Let our young adults build roots in IL.
My budget approach is simple: live within our means, plan ahead, and make sure every tax dollar improves daily life. We can grow revenue by reclaiming Illinois,especially Chicago,as a safe, reliable transit and logistics hub that attracts investment and boosts small businesses. IL has world-class universities and talented people who can be an economic engine, so we should invest in education, job training, apprenticeships, and partnerships between schools and employers. We should also cut waste by sharing back-office work like payroll and IT across 850+ school districts and 650+ pension systems while keeping local control. Savings should be reinvested. This will keep taxes fair, strengthen services, and build stability for the long term.
Illinois needs to invest now to reduce future damages.
1) Flooding: Upgrade storm drains and sewers, and expand “green” solutions like permeable sidewalks and rain gardens to reduce basement flooding and protect the lakefront.
2) Indoor pollution: Replace aging infrastructure, especially gas pipes and outdated building systems,with safer electric upgrades and clean energy like solar to improve indoor air quality.
3) Transit and streets: Modernize CTA and roads so service is clean, reliable, and safe. Use real-time tracking to prevent “ghost buses” and bunching, and maintain stations and vehicles to grow ridership.
4) Green infrastructure: Scale investments in energy efficiency, electrification, & clean-energy upgrades that reduce pollution.
Public Safety: Focus on repeat offenders and serious harm. Pair accountability with structured programs like education, skill development and job training to stop repeat crimes. It is not a free pass, but a mandated participation with progress tracked and escalating consequences.
Criminal Justice Reform: Measure success by results like less repeat crime and a system people trust. Invest in prevention programsfor youth and people at risk and restorative justice to ensure sustainable results.
Community Support: Safety also means stability. Increase housing supply, stop people from being priced out, fix catch-22 rental barriers, and expand mental health crisis care, addiction treatment, youth programs, victim services, and job/reentry support.
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Campaign Phone
7085748848
I started as a fourth-grade teacher, where I saw up close the challenges my students faced. I then attended law school at Northwestern University. After graduating, I joined Lori Lightfoot's administration as Senior Policy Advisor and Legal Counsel. In that role, I rewrote the Welcoming City Ordinance to bar police cooperation with ICE. I'm now a partner at Bartlit Beck, and I teach legal ethics at Northwestern Law. I'm running for state representative because Illinois should be a model for progressive governance. My career has taken me from the classroom to City Hall to the courtroom, and at every stop I've challenged systems that weren't working. I want to bring that same approach to Springfield on behalf of the community I care about.
My top three priorities are addressing the housing affordability crisis, improving public education, and restoring trust in state government. For housing, I'd push Springfield to act on zoning reform, faster permitting, and financing tools that help build more housing quickly. On education, I'll fight to reduce unnecessary mandates on teachers and secure funding for research-backed literacy programs. As state representative, I’ll also focus on empowering the legislative inspector general to open investigations independently, enacting publicly financed elections so candidates answer to voters rather than a handful of major donors, and ensuring transparency in how decisions are made in Springfield.
Unfunded pension liabilities limit investment in what matters, like education and public infrastructure. To address these challenges, the state needs to be honest about the problem and focus on reforms to ensure responsible stewardship of tax dollars before asking taxpayers for more revenue. Regarding pensions, the state needs to move towards fully-funded pensions. Governor Pritzker recently proposed a plan to do so, and I would work closely with his administration to make that plan law. Improving pension fund efficiency is another important step in fiscal health. Like Nevada, Illinois should move toward passive index fund management, which would reduce management costs by tens of millions annually while likely improving returns.
I would push for lifecycle projections of usage and maintenance costs to be incorporated into cost-benefit analyses at the capital-planning stage, so decisions are based on long-run value rather than short-term politics. Regarding transportation, I will work to ensure transit reforms are fully implemented and properly enforced. Beyond that, more housing needs to be built near transit to make car-free and car-light living practical for more Illinoisans. Further, we need to prioritize clean air and water in all neighborhoods, ensure development projects do not place undue environmental burdens on vulnerable communities, and invest in green infrastructure in areas that have been historically neglected.
Public safety requires both effective law enforcement and smart investments in the programs that prevent crime. I support a balanced approach that ensures prosecutors and judges can hold violent offenders accountable while also investing in programs that address root causes of crime, like mental health services and substance abuse treatment. For instance, legislators must ensure that the Illinois State Police has the support it needs to keep guns off the street, especially illegal guns trafficked from other states. At the same time, the state needs to expand resources that reduce recidivism and keep communities safe. That includes more funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment and community violence intervention programs.
