Rahm Emanuel CHICAGOTOGETHER.ORG Current: 55th Mayor of Chicago, elected 2011. Previous: 23rd White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama (2009-2010), U.S. House of Representatives,5th District of Illinois (2003-2007) Training for police officers that help develop trust between the community and police ( procedural justice ). Intervention programs targeted towards high risk youth (e.g., One Summer Chicago). Plus is a summer jobs program designed for justice involved youth. Rahm s administration has established a strategy for expanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) proficiency in dozens of schools by training 1,000 teachers over the next five years and triple the number of students that receive STEM credentials by the end of 2018. He often cites his expansion of full-day kindergarten, which is available to all Chicago children. Supported the Illinois DREAM Act, supports Chicago Dreamers. Established the Office of New Americans to improve services and engage Chicago s global immigrant communities. Passed a city ordinance that expanded the city s policy that bans agencies and police officers from inquiring into the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses, or anyone seeking city services. The Chicago Tribune, President Barack Obama, Rep. Bobby Rush, The Chicago-Sun Times, The Chicago Defender, Crain s Chicago Business, former Mayor Richard M. Daley Rahm has been focused on bringing new businesses and creating jobs across the city, cutting red tape, and offering new resources to small businesses. Also dedicated to investing in infrastruture. Since the summer of 2011, 53,000 jobs have been created under Rahm and has brought $800 million to the city in federal dollars. Need a balanced bugdet that puts away money in a rainy day fund; however, reject increasing taxes to create a balanced budget. Specific proposals are in his October budget plan. Many candidates have criticized the mayor regarding his allocation of TIF funds, calling for more transparency. In a correspondence with the Chicago Reader, Rahm contradicted various sources, asserting that 75 percent of TIF funds are spent on public works projects and that the details are available online. Plans a $13 minimum wage increase by 2019. He wants to begin with a $10 increase by July 1st, $0.50 hikes in 2016 & 2017, and $1 increases in 2018 & 2019.
Jesus Chuy Garcia CHICAGOFORCHUY.COM Current: Cook County Board of Commissioners, 7th District elected 2011. Previous: The Illinois Senate, 1st District (1993-1999), Alderman of the 22nd Ward, Chicago City Council (1986-1993) Promises to increase the amount of police officers but stresses adequate training. Wants to commit to true community policing and partnership between neighborhood and police. Takes a multifaceted approach on crime; restorative justice and programs that address the root causes of the high crime rate. As a state legislator in 1995, Garcia voted against Chicago s appointed school board. As mayor, he promises to go to Springfield and ask the legislature to revoke the mayoral control legislation and let Chicago take its place with the rest of Illinois by having an elected board. Moreover, he will ensure critical bilingual and dual-language programs will be available to all students that need and desire them. Garcia will support immigrants applying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs. He will implement a clear city policy on language access. Garcia will restore ethnic advisory councils to the Chicago Commission on Humans Relations. Garcia designate a community resource officer from the Chicago Police Department to serve as a liaison with immigrant populations and make sure that there is real and effective training for police to know how to respond appropriately, regardless of the immigration status of those involved. Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Gazette, Diane Ravitch (former Assistant Secretary of Education), Miguel del Valle (former Illinois Senator and Chicago City Clerk), Gery Chico (Chairman of Illinois Board of Education), Illinois Education Association, Daily Kos As the neighborhood guy, Garcia plans to introduce neighborhood-driven economic development strategies. He would change discrepancies in economic development between the city s central business district and the neighborhoods, especially where there are strong minority communities. Garcia would try to find additional revenue in the city s ever growing transportation departments. Garcia would divert TIF funds to pay down the city s pension debt, though he s never stated explicitly how much money would be reallocated. To increase TIF transparency and accountability, Chuy calls for a forensic audit of the TIF program. Supports $15 minimum wage now and continue to increase based on the annual inflation rate.
Robert Bob Fioretti BOBFIORETTI.COM Current: Alderman of the 2nd Ward, Chicago City Council, elected 2007. Counsel to the Chicago law firm Orum & Roth, LLC. Previous: Civil rights attorney, Special Assistant Attorney General of Illinois. Special Assistant State s Attorney. Senior Supervising Attorney of the General Litigation Division for the Corporation Counsel of the City of Chicago Intends to increase funding for afterschool & summer programs, promises a $4 million and $10 million increase respectively. Promises to cut overtime costs to $50 million in order to hire more police focused on on-foot patrolling. Also promises to reopen mental health clinics to help what he calls the most vulnerable citizens of Chicago. Would fire Garry McCarthy. Fioretti promises to fight for an elected representative school board for Chicago. In conjunction, he will end wasteful spending on excessive standardized tests and unneeded central office departments and prioritize these funds to restore needed resources to the schools that have suffered. Key investments will include school nurses, clinicians, librarians, and vocational educators in as many schools as possible, to provide necessary wraparound services to our children. Fioretti believes in the need to remove barriers that prevent immigrants from integrating into the city. He wants to expand technical assistance and streamline business licensing process to make it easier for immigrants to become small business owners. In addition, he wants to host meetings, information sessions, and seminars in local neighborhoods rather than City Hall. Green Party of Chicago, Dr. Amara Enyia (former candidate), Chicago Police Sergents Association, Illinois Education Association, Fioretti wants to maximize development projects in various Chicago neighborhoods. Believes Community Beneifits Agreements (CBAs) are a vital tool to ensure projects are of max-value added. He wants to build upon entrepreneurship and technological innovation centers and push for worker-owned cooperatives to expand small businesses. Opposes increasing property taxes to balance the budget, but would look into TIF funds and possibly a commuter tax. Need additional revenue for pension funds; everything is on the table, except property tax increases. Fioretti calls for an immediate moratorium on any new TIFs and proposes the city freeze existing TIFs to conduct a complete audit. He will declare $1.4 billion in unused TIF funds as surplus. That money could then be used to reopen our mental health clinics, shore up some of our school budgets, make a payment into our beleaguered pension fund, turn some of the closed schools into community centers that drive economic development and begin meaningful neighborhood economic development programs. Supports a $15 minimum wage for businesses with greater than $50 million in annual income.
William Dock Walls WALLSFORMAYOR.COM Current: Owner of American Shirt- Shak (established in 1977). Community and Political Activist. Previous: National Political Director of Rainbow PUSH, Confidential Assistant to Mayor Harold Washington (1983-1986). If elected, he would declare a State of Emergency. He would order the suspension of vacation and furlough days, conduct outdoor roll calls, training recruits in high crime areas, stop police from writing parking tickets, limit police traffic court appearances, and replace officers on desk duty with civilians and put those cops on street patrol. Would fire Garry McCarthy Walls believes members of Chicago s school board should be elected by the public. Of all the candidates, his position on charter schools is the most explicit. As he states, The number of Charter schools should be frozen at the current level. Regarding the city s education budget, central to his downstate legislative agenda will be a change in the funding formula for schools in Chicago and Cook County. Walls supports President Obama s Executive Action (e.g., DAPA and DACA) which he believes makes it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to remain in the U.S. and contribute to our economy. As mayor, Walls would direct the Chicago Superintendent of Police to train officers to operate in a manner consistent with the Executive Action. Chicago police will be instructed that no Chicago resident, or person within our jurisdiction, shall be subject to any scrutiny of the type reserved for Immigrations Customs Enforcement Agents. The Illinois Herald With the Grocers Community Owned and Operated initiative, Walls plans to create 20 Big Box Grocery stores, 60 mid-sized Neighborhood Markets, an estimated 5,000 Construction jobs, 20,000 permanent Grocery Store Industry jobs, and 25,000 residual, self perpetuating, private sector jobs. Furthemore, Doc endeavors to significantly reduce Chicago s comparatively high unemployment level and help eradicate the Food Deserts which persist and debilitate 27 of Chicago s 77 Communities. Believes that balancing the budget may lie in increasing competition in contract bidding in the city. As mayor, Walls would support the use of TIF Funds to facilitate the building of low-income housing, grocery stores and community approved economic development projects in blighted areas. He supports measures to provide greater transparency in the reporting of the amount of TIF Funds diverted from the secondary taxing bodies. Supports $13 mininum wage increase by 2019.
Willie Wilson ELECTWILLIEWILSON.COM Current: Founder, Chairman & CEO of Omar Medical Supplies, Inc. (established in 1997), Producer & Host of SINGSATION, an African American gospel entertainment program airs Sundays on local WGN-TV and WGN-America cable channels (1989-present); founded Willie Wilson Productions in 1987. Previous: Founder of Gemini Electronics LLC (2006; the company s status is currently listed as Administratively Dissolved), Owner-Operator of five McDonald s restaurants and Member of the National Black McDonald s Operators Association (1979-2003). Will make sure the police force matches the community they serve; an increase in African-American officers patrolling predominantly African-American communities. Reduce amount of squad cars and force more foot patroll. To reopen Chicago s closed schools, Wilson will organize a committee of community residents, teachers and administrators. His education plan also includes the re-establishment of a vigorous trade school and alternative school program by opening schools that teach paramedical, mechanical, culinary and other trades while allowing review and study for the GED for any student without a high school diploma. To better provide for the needs of immigrants, Wilson calls for the creation of an Hispanic/Latino Liason. The post would improve customer access to city programs. Providing a contact for the Hispanic community will encourage Latinos to participate in city programs including job training. IL Congressman Danny Davis, former Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Robert Shaw Supports the creation of a cityowned casino and opposes any tax increase. Believes in a tax on electronic financial transactions on the Chicago exhanges known as the Lasalle Street Tax in order to raise more revenue. Need to find measures outside of raising taxes in order to fund pensions and the city budget. As Harold Washington originally intended when he implemented the TIF program, Wilson believes TIF funds should... be distributed equally among all communities and become a more transparent pool that is used as a development tool for all of Chicago s neighborhoods, not just downtown the South Loop, DePaul and a few others. Supports the increase of minimum wage to $13 but believes Chicago must bring in more businesses to help fund the increase.