1. TRANSGENDER HEALTH CARE

In December, the CTA updated its insurance policy to cover transition related surgeries for transgender employees, as required by law.

Would you ensure that every City agency and private city-contractor has a policy that covers transition related healthcare and prohibits discrimination against employees who are transgender? If yes, please explain how you would implement this legal requirement in your first year in office.

CHICO:

Mayoral Questionnaire
My legal department will work with experts and activists to determine if additional ordinances are necessary to provide full protections to transgender employees and contractor employees.

2. LGBTQ & POLICE

Members of the LGBTQ community, especially individuals who are transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming, and who come from communities of color, report experiencing high incidents of violence and harassment from law enforcement, which erodes trust, and leads to a fear of law enforcement.

Will you pledge to work with the LGBTQ community to update CPD policies that would reduce violence and harassment, and increase trust between the transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming community and the CPD? If yes, please describe the elements of an updated policy that would reduce the violence and harassment faced by the LGBTQ community.

CHICO:
Mayoral Questionnaire

The CPD consent decree must be codified in city ordinance with appropriate updates to protect the LGBTQ community.


3. RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED HEALTH CARE

Religiously-mandated restrictions – such as the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) – tie the hands of health care providers at religiously-affiliated institutions by prohibiting a wide range of services, including contraception and other types of essential reproductive health care.  Patients are harmed when religious restrictions require that their health care providers deny them basic health care services or withhold full information from them.

Will you oppose the extension of TIF and other taxpayer-funded resources to expand and advance health care institutions that deny comprehensive reproductive health care services and information on the bases of religiously-mandated restrictions? 

CHICO:
Mayoral Questionnaire
I am pro choice without qualification and will under no circumstances support any policy or funding that restricts a woman’s right to choose.

4. BREASTFEEDING IN CHICAGO

A breastfeeding parent who is not able to regularly nurse or express breast milk through pumping is likely to experience pain, discomfort, and engorgement, and may be at risk for possible infection and/or a reduction in the amount of breast milk produced.

Will your administration insure that every municipal building and office is accessible for breastfeeding parents, including a private, non-restroom space for parents who need to pump breast milk and provide staff training on the rights of breast-feeding parents?

CHICO:
Mayoral Questionnaire
A parent friendly work environment is vital to any workforce and my administration will provide all necessary accommodations.

5. POLICE REFORM

In September, the City committed to reform the CPD by signing an agreement with the State of Illinois.

Do you support the consent decree between the City and the Illinois Attorney General designed to reform the CPD?  What three steps would you take immediately upon taking office to ensure that the decree is effectively implemented? 

CHICO: 
Mayoral Questionnaire

I support codifying the consent decree into city ordinance with appropriate revisions and updates from experts and community leaders.


6. CHANGES TO CPD

Are there any elements of the consent decree that you would want to change? If so, what changes would you make? 

CHICO: 
Mayoral Questionnaire

Additional community input is needed on CPD. At the very least greater steps must be taken to fire any officer who disables a recording device.


7. POLICE CONTRACTS

If new contracts have not been negotiated by the time you enter office, what changes would you demand in a new FOP contract in order to advance the police reform process? Do you support the 14 recommendations promoted by the Coalition for Police Contracts Accountability?  

CHICO: 
Mayoral Questionnaire

While many steps have been taken by the city itself, the FOP CBA is long overdue for revision. Too often it stipulates abusive officers have time to “get their stories straight” and otherwise evade proper oversight and discipline. Due process for an officer cannot and should not override due process for the citizens they protect.


8. LICENSE SUSPENSION

Suspension of a person’s drivers license for unpaid tickets is currently being used as a debt collection tool. Tickets often go unpaid simply because people lack the financial resources to pay tickets on time. For these individuals, license suspensions only make matters worse.  Many Chicagoans need to drive for their jobs, and even many non-driving jobs still require employees to have a valid driver’s license.

Will you support ending the use of driver’s license suspension as a penalty for non-moving violations, including unpaid parking and compliance tickets? What concrete policy changes will you initiate or support?

CHICO: 
Mayoral Questionnaire

The suspension policy is punitive and cruel and I will end it.


9. PARKING TICKET DEBT

Implementing “ability to pay” hearings and affordable payment plan terms would benefit low-income Chicago residents by allowing them to keep driving legally and avoid having their cars towed or booted.

Will you support creating a citywide process to determine a person’s ability to pay fines and fees, and adopting standards to ensure that payment plans for people who owe ticket debt must be affordable and accessible?

CHICO: 
Mayoral Questionnaire

As with bail reform, no civil penalty should become a de facto debtors prison. I will consult with the appropriate experts and stakeholders to create a fair but sustainable policy.


10. WELCOMING IMMIGRANTS

Chicago prides itself on being a welcoming city for immigrants, newcomers and asylum-seekers.  The current policy that the City is defending against a challenge by the Trump Administration is considered inadequate by many, since the policy allows someone to be reported to ICE if they have a prior felony conviction, a criminal warrant, a pending felony prosecution, or they are on the City’s gang database – a database that is notoriously inaccurate.

Will your administration support closing the loopholes listed above, in the Chicago Welcoming City Ordinance?

CHICO: 
Mayoral Questionnaire

It is not an exaggeration to say the Trump Administration is an abomination and is actively committing crimes against humanity. I will take any steps necessary to protect residents of our city.


11. TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT

Open, transparent government is a critical value in our system of government. Over the past several years, the City has refused to release material about important public policy matters, even when requested through the Freedom of Information Act process.  Such denials have led to litigation and delays in releasing information to the public. 

Will your administration commit to ensuring that city, and all of its agencies, promptly and completely respond to FOIA requests?   How will you act to implement your commitment? 

CHICO:
Mayoral Questionnaire

My records officers will be attorneys with thorough training in Illinois FOIA law and all legal opinions and casework on the matter. Too often employees who lack proper training take a “hide first, answer questions later” approach. No one is helped by this evasion and I will not tolerate it.


12. SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS

As one of the most surveilled cities in the world, Chicago collects vast amounts of sensitive information about its residents every day.  The city employs an extensive, unchecked, surveillance camera system that is utilized by an unknown number of agencies, including CPD.

What specific steps would your administration take to limit and regulate the use, and how will you ensure that the public knows how these systems work, and what technology is being utilized? 

CHICO:
Mayoral Questionnaire
There is simply no reason why city surveillance indexes cannot be incorporated into the city’s data portal while protecting sensitive information about individuals and law enforcement investigations, and I will enact this policy.

13. FACIAL RECOGNITION

The use of facial recognition technologies by law enforcement has been criticized because those systems have been shown to be susceptible to discrimination and bias.

What steps would your administration take to limit and regulate the use of facial recognition technologies by law enforcement and private businesses?  How would your administration generally support or oppose the use of facial recognition technology in Chicago?  

CHICO:
Mayoral Questionnaire

I do not think it is wise to preemptively limit potentially useful technology, but agree that any application should come with heavy oversight that includes a civilian board.


14. SURVEILLANCE DATABASES

Do you believe in using civilian oversight to ensure transparency and accountability for police practices, including the use of automated and surveillance technologies for law enforcement decision-making? How would you incorporate civilian oversight and ensure transparency in CPD’s use of automated and surveillance technology?

CHICO:
Mayoral Questionnaire
As I noted above, transparency and accountability should always include civilian oversight that is removed from political retribution, and I will enact this oversight as mayor.