What We’re All About
Priorities. Issues. Actions.
ARE YOU WITH US?
Affordable Neighborhoods
Housing is a human right.
Community
Safety
Stop violence before it starts.
People-Powered Government
Old-school Chicago politics is OUT.
Affordable Housing
We believe that housing is a human right & every 1st-ward resident should be able to afford to live, raise their kids, and retire in our community
As Alderman, Daniel has:
Drafted, co-sponsored, and passed the Connected Communities Ordinance making transit-oriented housing more affordable and equitable for all. (2022—Block Club)
Led efforts to stop developers from deconverting or demolishing livable affordable homes near the 606 – a successful effort that decreased demolitions and deconversions by 90%. (2022 Block Club)
Legalized coach houses and basement units in the 1st Ward to help multi-generational households stay in their homes. (2021 WTTW)
Created the most transparent community-driven zoning process ever in the 1st Ward by
Publishing all zoning applications online (www.the1stward.com/zoning)
Hosting community input sessions for every development
Formally asking established community groups and associations for input as a standard practice
Voted to double the number of affordable units required in large, new developments, including to keep it affordable living for public school teachers. (2019 Block Club)
Rejected new development proposals that would demolish existing, livable homes while prioritizing new proposals that would build new affordable, family-sized units in our community. (2020—City of Chicago Ordinance)
Ended Alderman Moreno’s practice of allowing developers to pay into a fund in lieu of building affordable units on-site.
Invested hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief money to support Chicagoans without stable housing through permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and new affordable developments.
What we can do next:
Pass Bring Chicago Home to establish a permanent source of funding to end homelessness.
Expand City funding sources to encourage rehab and re-development of existing affordable, multi-unit housing.
Expand fair housing zoning reforms that encourage the development of affordable housing across all 77 Community Areas.
Create more progressive historic preservation ordinances to protect the vernacular, common buildings that house the working class.
Pass the Just Cause for Eviction ordinance, ensuring the rights of tenants not to be evicted without reasonable cause.
Public Safety
Every Chicagoan deserves to feel safe and secure whether walking in their neighborhood, or exploring our city, or at their school.
70% of 911 calls in the 1st Ward aren’t for violent crime. Daniel believes we stretch our police officers too thin. Mental health crises and wellness checks should be handled by trained professionals. (2022 Chicago Reader)
And Daniel believes we won’t make real progress unless we address the root causes of violence. As Alderman, Daniel has been a champion for a holistic approach to public safety seeking both long and short term solutions to address violence. Modernizing our approach to public safety means investing in data-driven initiatives to prevent crimes before they occur while also increasing transparency and accountability in all of our public safety institutions.
As Alderman, Daniel has:
Coordinated with the 12th and 14th police districts with weekly briefings and hourly phone calls when matters were urgent (more than 240+ police briefings over 4 years).
Voted to quadruple spending on violence prevention initiatives. (2021 WTTW)
Created the Civilian Police Accountability Council—a historic civilian oversight law that allows Chicagoans a democratic voice in public safety policy-making and leadership. Brand new civilian representatives are on the Feb 2023 ballot! (2020 Block Club)
Expanded violence prevention street outreach teams in with $250,000 grant for work in West Town and $50,000 grant in Logan Square.
Tripled spending during the pandemic on domestic and gender-based violence—a historic increase to address a deepening public safety crisis during the pandemic—and challenged Mayor’s staff when they left the funds sitting in the bank instead using it. (2022 Block Club)
Supported efforts to establish the first ever mental health first responder pilot in Chicago. (2022 Bloomberg)
Collaborated with the 14th Police District on a new pilot that prevents catalytic convertor thefts and registers catalytic converters with the police department. (2022 CPD) (2022 Chicago Tribune)
What we can do next:
Pass the Anjanette Young ordinance to end wrongful raids like the one that left Ms. Young wrongfully handcuffed naked in her home.
Work with public safety stakeholders to improve consent decree compliance and to better staff Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) to ensure expeditious, robust investigations of misconduct claims.
Pass the Treatment Not Trauma referendum to dispatch mental health professionals and EMTs to respond to mental health and domestic violence crises—24-hours and city-wide. (Treatment Not Trauma)
Transparent, People-Powered Government
“Old school” Chicago politics has a national reputation for corruption. Today, even sitting members of the City Council are facing federal corruption charges. We’re done with that.
Daniel represents the new generation of community leadership. No favors traded in back rooms—imagine that! Our values are transparency, accountability, and community voices—to both City Hall and in the 1st Ward. We are ending abuse of power and re-establishing trust.
As Alderman, Daniel has:
Voted to limit Aldermen’s secondary employment that create conflicts of interest like Alderman Burke’s property tax job.
Personally turned down a significant annual raise so that money could be invested back into our city. (2022 Chicago Tribune)
Established the most community-driven, transparent zoning process ever in the 1st Ward—including publishing all zoning applications online and hosting community forums for every proposal.
Refuses meetings with developers until after the community weighs in on a proposed development to ensure community voice is centered in decision making. (2019 Block Club)
Launched participatory budgeting in the 1st Ward, a historic change allowing community members (not special interest groups and developers) to vote on how to spend more than $1 million dollars of annual aldermanic “menu money” on infrastructure like upgraded streetlights, street safety, or community beautification projects. (the1stward.com/pb1)
Every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, has hosted Ward Nights: 1 on 1 appointments with any ward resident who wants to meet, regardless of power or privilege. (the1stward.com/wardnight)
What we can do next:
Pass publicly financed elections and ranked choice voting, so that our elections are truly fair.
So Much More…
Transportation
2023: Endorsed by Better Streets ChicagoWe believe city streets should be “Vision Zero”—designed to eliminate death and injury—and that public transportation should be comprehensive, affordable and accessible for all.
As Alderman, Daniel has supported expanding bus and train service, pushed for CTA reliability, advocated strongly for safer streets for pedestrians, bicyclists, and people with disabilities.
Public Education
2023: Endorsed by Chicago Teachers UnionWe believe a strong public school system is fully funded and allows all students to thrive.
Too many 1st Ward schools are half-filled due to under-enrollment and underinvestment.Daniel was a product of a good public school system, strongly believes in investing in our CPS—advocating for policies and budgets that allow all students to thrive.
Environment
2023: Endorsed by Sierra Club of Illinois2023: Endorsed by Urban Environmentalists of Illinois2023: received a second 100% score on the Illinois Environmental Council’s 2023 Chicago City Council Environmental Scorecard. This Scorecard tracks votes from the last two years (June 2021- December 2022) You can view the scorecard herePublic Transportation
Biking Safety
Parks & Recreation
Fair Taxation
Public Transportation Biking Safety Parks & Recreation Fair Taxation
More Priorities Coming
Missing something? This last four years has been so busy, we’re still working on building out the information you need about other important issues. Let us know what you want to see!
