Good
afternoon, everyone. The Committee on Transportation and Public Way is
now called to order. We will now have a roll
call to establish a quorum. Will the aldermen please make sure their microphones
are muted. Please note that your yes or present response will be deemed
to be a yes vote when the quorum roll call is used as reference vote for
later, later items. Thank you.
Chairman Mitchell, president. President.
Present.
Vice Chair Vasquez.
Alderman Conway. Alderman
Irving. Alderman Fuentes.
Alderman Gutierrez. Alderman
Harris. Alderman Hopkins.
Alderman Moore. Alderman
Mosley. Alderman Nugent.
Alderman Rodriguez. Alderman
Waguespack. Alderman
Yancy.
There are eight members present. We have a quorum.
Alderman Vasquez, Alderman
Irving
have requested remote participation under Rule fifty-nine of the Rules of
Order and Procedures for the City Council.
I would like to also add Alderman Mosley and Alderman
Gutierrez to that list of participants
via Rule fifty-nine. Mosley and Gutierrez.
Can I have a motion to allow remote participation for the above-mentioned,
aldermen? Alderman Rodriguez so moves.
On the motion, all in favor say aye.
All in favor say no- no. All opposed say no.
In opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
At this time, we will begin the public comment period.
Out of respect for everybody's time, public comment will be limited to thirty
minutes, and each speaker is limited to three minutes.
Okay.
Speakers, in accordance with Rule fifty-eight of the City Council Rules of Order,
please refrain from profane language, obscene conduct, and
disruptive comments.Our
first, our first,
public speaker, I shouldn't let her up, but she's
a good friend of mine, I'll let her talk. Leslie Honoré.
Oh, Leslie. My bad.
Good morning to everyone except for Alderman Mitchell.
My name is-
Always been quick.
I'm trying. My name is Leslie Honoré. I'm the CEO of Urban Gateways.
I also serve on the city's Women's Advisory Council and the Arts and Culture
Advisory Council. This is also my third term as co-chair of
Elevated Chicago, whose focus is equitable transit-oriented
development, which we have also submitted a letter in support of Cristian
Diaz, who I first met while serving on Elevated
Chicago Steering Committee. To say that his advocacy is
inspiring and that he helps shape Chicago's voting, transportation, and
housing with an unwavering commitment to equity is putting it
mildly. Cristian is a bridge between our city's marginalized
commun-communities and the foundation of this one hundred and eighty nine oh
city that we love so dearly. Cristian is an educator, a
collaborator, a hand that stretches across all seventy-seven of our
communities with a consistent echo that we all have the right for
education, affordable housing, and especially equitable and
accessible public transportation that moves us from city to
home and school to opportunity. Cristian's commitment to our city goes
beyond words and policy. It goes to his heart and to its
residents. It is a commitment that he has given every part of his life
to, and I cannot imagine a better appointment to our Metra board that
serves all of us to create a better, more
accessible, and equitable city. Thank you.
Right.
So tall, Leslie.
Hi, can you hear me? Okay.
Yes, we do.
All right. Um, so good afternoon, members of the Committee on
Transportation. Uh, I wanna express my strong
support for the appointment of Cristian Diaz to the Community Rail
Board of Metra.
I serve as executive director of the Center for Equity,
Effectiveness, and Efficiency in Local Government.
Previously-
Can you hear her?
... I served as a professor of public administration at the University of
Illinois at Chicago, and as deputy director
of Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
My work has centered on strengthening public institutions,
advancing equity, and improving how government delivers for
the communities that depend on it most.
I've known Cristian Diaz for more than ten years, dating back to his time as
executive director of Chicago Votes, where we worked
on shared civic spaces to expand enfranchisement for young
people and communities of color.
Cristian now serves as president of the board for my organization,
C3E, whose mission is to improve the performance of local
government and advance equity for all communities, especially
those that need government to work better.
He brings a rare combination of lived experience, civic
leadership, and a strong understanding of public
administration and management. He knows how public
sy-systems shape daily life, and he understands the
operational discipline required to make those systems work
well. That is precisely why he would bri-be such
a strong addition to the Community Rail Board.
Accessible, affordable, and reliable public transit
is essential to economic mobility and community
well-being. It connects residents to jobs,
education, healthcare, and opportunity.
So strong transit governance therefore requires both a
commitment to equity and a focus on operational
excellence. Cristian brings both.
Those values and experiences would serve Metra and the public well as a moment
when thoughtful, community-centered leadership is especially important.
Chicago has only one Metra board appointment to represent the city.
This is an important opportunity to appoint a leader who understands
both the public trust and the practical demands of governing a
major transit system. Thank
you.
Good afternoon. Um, so Nicole Soto, I'm
speaking in support of Cristian Diaz today.
I have known Cristian on a personal level for a lot less time than a lot of people
in this room, it seems. Um, I've only known him less than a year very personally,
but he has made a very strong impact, on me
as a mentor and a friend in community organizing spaces,
specifically in the northwest side of Chicago.
And
it's funny because I have known Cristian, or of him, and his work
in affordable housing and community spaces for much longer than that.
So, obviously a lot of people know him and have mentioned him just in
passing, like, "Hey, have you ever worked with Cristian Diaz?
Um, maybe you should get to know him," and luckily I was able to do that in the
last year. If you work in community organizing, then you know you
don't do it for name recognition or power, but for the people, and you do it to
uplift your community and to bring equity to those who have been forgotten,
and to bring power to the voices left in the shadows.
I strongly believe that well experienced organizers are the types of people you
want leading advice to decision makers so they know the
impacts of those decisions and policies they are putting into
action.Christian is this type of person.
He provides insight and thoughtful feedback on community needs.
He doesn't take for granted the positions he's been put in, but rather has worked
hard to ensure everyone has a voice.
He listens, he explains, and he is passionate about everything he does.
The Metro is an incredibly important part of transit access from our city and
suburbs that gets our s- community members to work, to healthcare
visits, and the list goes on and on.
And we need someone on the board who recognizes that need and connects with
everyone in leadership when decisions are being made.
I wholeheartedly support this appointment, and I hope you all will
too.
Thank you, Ms. Soto. Um, the next public speaker is
George Blakemore.
Reading is fundamental. Appointment of
Christian Diaz as a director of the Community Railroad-
Mr. Blakemore, can you speak up?
Metra
for a term expiring
September
2026.
If you couldn't hear me previously, hopefully, you
will return my minutes.
W-what qualifications? I, I'm hearing as a
community leader, but you have to, in Metra, dealing
with finance
and operation, and this is only for
a, a short period of time.
So, and, and listening, to the previous
speakers, a, a, a, a community leader
is, is, is, is not enough because
our mass transportation, dealing with CTA,
Pace, and, and Metra. Uh, what about the
safety, the operation, the, the cleanliness,
the, the finance? I, I haven't heard
anyone a-address these issues that I'm bringing
up. A community, leader, is
something different. We have to have
people, and I expect you
to question the, the young lad- the young gentleman
a-about, the safety
and the operation and, and the
finance, all of that.
So, again, it's only a short period of time,
and, I hope that you
question him thoroughly why
does he think he can fit, the criteria
for a good director
and, and, and how would his position
help, the mass transit here with
CTA, with the safety, the high crime
and, and, terrible things, killing
that's going on. So that's why it's very important
for me to come to these meetings. It's very
important.
What, w-what can-- what is his
solution, for mass
transportation? Again, I'm repeating myself, for
safety, for finance, for
cleanliness, equity share. That mean you
got to have people of different ethnic group, and put on these
committees. That doesn't mean they're qualified to do the
job. So again, it's very important
for me to attend these meetings. These people have
worked with him on one level, now he's moving to another level.
Thank you and have a blessed day.
Thank you, Mr. Blakemore. Um, next public speaker
is
Sh-Sherrie
Boggs.
Sherrie or Cherie, I
don't...
Good afternoon. Can you hear me?
Yes. I'm Cherie Boggs, and I am the
Director of Safety and Development for
Chicago Eyes on a Safer Tomorrow. Our goal is
vision. It's a visual integ-
integrated system that allows the city
to observe all things impacting CFD,
s- CPD, Metra, and Pace, and we would like an
opportunity to present a proposal to the committee.
Thank you.
All right. Thank you. Um, that being the last person that signed up, this
concludes public comment period.
I move to approve the Rule Forty-Five report for the Committee on Transportation
and Public Way meeting held on February first-- I mean, February eleventh,
twenty twenty-six. Can I get a motion to recommend approval of this
item? An, Alderman Nugent so moves on the motion.
All in favor say aye. Opposed, no. In the opinion of the
chair, the ayes
have it.
Today we have seven items on the agenda.
Going out of order on page five, item one is a substitute ordinance for
a transportation item in the Second Ward.
Going out of order on page six, item one is a substitute ordinance for a
subdivision in the First Ward. Can I get a motion to accept the substitute
ordinance on-- into committee?
Alderman Moore so moves on the motion. All in favor say aye.
Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have
it. Pages three and four include fifteen
ordinances
fromMiscellaneous
items introduced by the local aldermen from wards 21, 24, 26,
27, 29, 32, 36, 47,
48 and 50. Can I get a motion to recommend approval of these
items? Alderman Rodriguez so moves.
On the motion, all in favor say aye. Opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Pages five, item one, repeal of taxi cab
stand number 17. Substitute ordinance
2026-0023-068. Can I get a
motion to recommend approval of this item?
Alderman Yancy so moves. On the motion, all in favor say aye.
Opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Page six, item one, Bellmore Estate Subdivision.
Substitute ordinance
2026-0023-201. A
proposed subdivision in the block bounded by West North
Avenue, North Bell Avenue, West Lemoyne, Lemoyne Street,
and North Oakley Boulevard, located in the First Ward.
Here to speak on that, do we have Mica- Mig-
Michael Esgar, of attorney
Aca- Acosta Esgar LLC. Are we
present? Okay, sir, take a
seat.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
My name is Michael Esgar with the law firm of Acosta Esgar, and I'm here on
behalf of the applicant, Volo Holdings LLC.
It's a 1501 Oakley series, and we have,
an application on file. I appreciate, I think you already acknowledged the
substitute ordinance, and, appreciate that that has been accepted into the
record. Um, I've been,
working closely with, the First Ward,
and Nick Zettel is here, from the alderman's office, on
this proposal as well as the community.
Just very briefly, the, area of the
subdivision is shown here. It's South and North Avenue,
north of, Lemoyne Street in between,
Bell and Oakley, and it's the,
former baseball fields for a school that, is
to our south. The subdivision is the northern portion of that area.
There's a, uh... In working with the community and with the
alderman's office, we were able to come to a conclusion of, not
only doing the subdivision, but dedicating
the, north nine feet that was previously de-
vacated back to the alley. So this is now a plat of subdivision
and dedication, and that's shown on, on this plat.
And finally, the, the site plan
for the property will allow for, this subdivision will allow
for, four separate, homes,
four separate buildings with, three story buildings,
as shown on the site plan. Uh, with that, we, stand ready
and, and again, I do have, Nick Zettel from the alderman's office here,
for if there's any questions. Thank you.
Thank you, attorney. Um,
the
presentation was moving a little quick.
What, what type of buildings are these? It looks like...
Are these... Oh, they're, they're, they're commercial buildings.
Th- this is residential. I'm sorry.
Seven, they're four, seven unit buildings.
They're three story buildings. There's, a, a, a
basement and first floor. Uh, there's basically four
simplexes and three duplexes per building.
Larger town home units, each with a two-car garage.
Oh, okay. Um, based on, buildings in that
area, similar, what are they selling
for?
Uh, I don't have the, that
market data information. I'm sorry.
Oh.
They, they are for sale units, and,
I'm not sure what the town homes are selling for.
Okay. Do you, do you have any of the information about the cost of the building-
I, I-
... and all that information?
I, I don't have that either, but I can certainly follow up with-
Yeah
... the committee. I've been in touch with, Stephanie from the committee, and I
can follow up with her directly, immediately today.
Yeah. Okay. Not to put you on the spot on this question, but I'm
assuming you didn't have that information because you're not getting any subsidies
from the city, correct?
Correct. No subsidies from the city.
You don't have that.
It's all privately funded.
All right.
Correct.
Okay. Yeah, we like to know that. I know that,
these type of projects in other wards do would get
the
financial information associated are heavily publicized, so I think to keep it
fair-
No
... we, we-
No problem. I, I will get that information for sure-
Okay
... to Stephanie today.
All right. Uh, are there any questions, regarding this item from the,
committee members?
All right. Uh, the committee has received a, and reviewed a letter of
support from Alderman Gaspara. There is no compensation due for this
project. Uh, can I get a motion to recommend approval of this
item? Alderman Conway so moves. On the motion,
all in favor say aye. Opposed, no. In the opinion of the
chair, the ayes have it.
Thank you very much. Thank you, chair.
Mr. Chair, if I could be acknowledged for quorum as well.
I will.
Thanks, sir.
Chairman, I'm online if you can also recognize me
for quorum.
At this time I want to acknowledge, Alderman Conway, as present
for purposes of quorum, and Alderman Fuentes
has joined us and requests to participate
via Rule 59. Can I get a
motion? Alderman Yancy,
moves to participation, remote participation for Alderman
Fuentes. On the motion, all those in favor say aye.
Opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have
it.
A quick check. Alderm- is Alderman Mosley present
online?Alderman
Irvin?
The Alderman Irvin is present.
Alderman Vasquez?
Alderman Gutierrez?
Gutierrez is present online.
Okay. Some rolls in. Oh, there all of them.
All right. Just wanna do a little housekeeping.
Okay, items,
page six, item two, Commerce Park Chicago Sub-Division,
Subdivision, Ordinance two zero two six zero zero two two five
four three. A proposed subdivision in the block bounded by East a hundred
and eighteenth Street, South Burleigh Avenue, East a hundred and twentieth
Street, twenty-second Street, and South Avenue O, located in the
tenth ward.
Here to speak we have Liz Butler
for attorney Taft Law, and Christina
Hubisek, applicant. All
right.
Do we need to-
All right, ladies, uh.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee.
Um, do we need to move the presentation into full screen
for it to show or?
Okay, perfect. Um, good afternoon, Chairman Mitchell, members of the
committee. My name is Liz Butler. I'm a partner at the law firm of Taft Stettinius
& Hollister, located at one eleven East Wacker Drive in Chicago, and I'm
appearing on behalf of the applicant in this matter, NP Avenue O
LLC. And I'm joined, today by Christina
Hubisek, who's the re-regional vice president of Northpoint Development
on behalf of the applicant. We're before the committee today seeking your
favorable consideration of a subdivision for an approximately sixty-five
acre parcel bounded by East a hundred and eighteenth Street on the north,
South Avenue O on the east, East a hundred and twenty-second Street on the
south, and South Burleigh Avenue on the west.
The subject property is located,
in the Hegewisch community area on the
city's southeast side in the tenth ward, which is indicated,
on this community area map with the red
star.
Which is not showing.
Mm-hmm.
Attorney Butler, you don't want us to see it?
Should be a presentation mode.
Yeah, like a full screen.
Oops.
Uh, yep. Oh, go ahead.
This one?
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Go on the screen and look for the, the full screen.
Better. Okay. Thank you for your, patience
there. A, a little bit of background on the site.
The subject property is part of an approximately two hundred acre,
the, Commerce Park Chicago campus, which is an
ongoing public-private redevelopment, project between Northpoint
Development and the City of Chicago.
The master plan for the project contemplated four to five industrial
buildings totaling approximately two point three million square feet,
approximately two miles of new public roadway, and a new
at-grade rail crossing. Northpoint acquired the site in
twenty eighteen and began construction in April of twenty-eight, twenty
nineteen. Since that time, the applicant has made substantial progress
implementing, the overall redevelopment plan.
Um, you can see on the screen here, to date, three industrial buildings have been
completed within the campus, with Ford Motor Company occupying the
first, first building that was completed.
The project has also delivered approximately two miles of new public
roadway, that were constructed by the applicant and then dedicated to
the city, which, substantially improved access and
circulation, in the area of the subject property.
The redevelopment has required significant environmental remediation and
site prep, including more than nine million dollars invested in
remediation, and the importation of over one
million cubic yards of clean fill to address historic slag and
subsurface conditions.
So there has been a substantial capital investment, and the applicant has, is
continued, its commitment to implementing Commerce Park Chicago
redevelopment in coordination with the city and consistent with a number of
prior approvals that have been reviewed, by this committee over the years,
including subdivisions, vacations, and dedications.
Um, the proposal that's before you today is a requested
subdivision to divide a sixty-five acre parcel into two
new legal lots of record. Uh, this is a rendered view
of the subject property from the north looking south.
And so we have East a hundred and eighteenth, eighteenth Street on the
north, South Avenue O on the east, a hundred and twenty-second Street on the
south, and Burleigh on the west. Um, you can see that the southern
portion of the sixty-five acre parcel is improved with an existing industrial
building that's about six hundred and two thousand square foot industrial
building. The northern portion of the site is vacant and
unimproved. Um, the site has not
previously been subdivided. It consists of several tax parcels, which you
can see here on the screen. Um, the blue lines are the existing tax
parcels, which overlap with and do not
correspond with either the south or, or north lot.
So the proposed subdivision is going to create, two new
lots. The south lot will be forty acres, the north lot will be twenty-five
acres, and, this property is zoned as part of the planned manufacturing
district, so it would allow for future development with industrial
uses that are permitted, under the current zoning.
There's not a current, development proposal, that we're
presenting today. Um, there's not an end user that's contemplated
for the site at this time, but the new, legal lots of record will
position the site for future, development,
and compliance with the Illinois Plat Act.
It'll make the site more marketable, financiable, and development ready for
potential industrial users. So that will help to accelerate
future investment, and job-generating activity at Commerce Park
Chicago. The applicant discussed the proposed subdivision with Alderman
Chico, who's in support of the subdivision and,
provided a letter of support for the subdivision in advance of this
hearing. So with that, we respectfully request the committee's favorable,
consideration of this matter, and, we're available to answer any
questions that the committee might have.
Thank you. Um, for clarity, applicant is, is North
Point?
Uh, the applicant is NP Avenue O, which is a subsidiary of North Point
Development.
Can you say that again?
It's-- the applicant is NP Avenue O LLC-
Oh
... which is a subsidiary of North Point Development.
Okay. Okay.
Um,
you, you mentioned that this lot had to go through a, a lot of,
remediation. Um, you mentioned slag, right?
Was there anything else there? And th-this is a, a...
I know what's going on on the southeast side. It's a very pure question.
I'm, I'm tryna make-- get some information.
Christina Hubacek, Regional Vice President at North Point Development.
There was a substantial amount of environmental remediation as well.
Um, so environmental cleanup, we hauled several million,
tons of d-dirty,
dirt off-site to a landfill and brought in
new f-clean fill as well.
And that was signed off by, by the state?
All has been signed off by the, the, I-Illinois
EPA. Um, the site itself had an NFR letter
on it when we purchased it, and all of the contaminated material
has received new focused NFRs, so the site continues to remain,
um-
What is the date on the original NFR?
Twenty... The early 2000s.
Oh, so not that bad. Okay. All right. Just curious. Okay.
Are there any questions, from members of the
body?
All right. The committee has received and reviewed a letter of support from
Alderman Chico. There's no compensation due to this project.
Uh, can I get a motion to recommend approval of this item?
Alderman Harris so moves. On the motion, all in favor say
aye. Those opposed, no. In y-in the opinion
of the chair, the ayes have it.
Thank you.
Thank
you.
All right. So now page two, item one, an appointment of Christian
Diaz as director of the Community Rail
Board, Metra.
Appoi- appointment two zero two six zero zero two
three four one eight. Appointment of Christian Diaz as Director of Community Rail
Board, Metra, for a term effective immediately and expiring September
1st, 2026 to succeed Eric
Estrada, whose term has expired. Here to speak, we
have the appointee, Christian
Diaz.
Are you there? Okay. All right. So, Mr.
Diaz.
Thank you.
Yeah, you have the, you have the floor.
Thank you. Uh, good afternoon, Chairman
Mitchell, Vice Chairman Vazquez, and members of the
Transportation Committee. My name is Christian
Diaz. I am a proud lifelong resident of the northwest side of
Chicago. I am an immigrant, and I'm an openly
proud and queer person. I grew up in the Logan Square
community for most of my life and now reside in
Avondale. It is an honor to appear before you today
as you consider my appointment to the board of the Commuter, Commuter Rail Division
of the Regional Transportation Authority, commonly known as
Metra. Among my qualifications is experience in
transportation planning, capital project development,
and collaboration with community-based organizations.
In 2018, I led an effort with Chicago United for
Equity to conduct a racial equity impact assessment for the
Logan Square Traffic Circle redesign.
It was the first time a racial equity impact assessment
was conducted for a public infrastructure project.
That work helped set the foundation for a successful
campaign to transform a CTA-owned parking lot
into one hundred affordable homes directly adjacent to the Logan Square Blue Line
station. In 2019, I
accepted a community leadership award on behalf of these efforts from the
Active Transportation Alliance, which has endorsed my appointment today.
In my current role as a real estate project manager with the Latin United
Community Housing Association, I help manage the financing and
construction of a church that is being rehabilitated into
twenty-two affordable apartments near the California Blue Line
station. We are also working with Evergreen,
Evergreen Real Estate Group to secure financing for phase two
of Encuentro Square, which will bring an additional ninety-eight
affordable homes to the Logan Square West area next to the
606 Bloomingdale Trail. Previously, as executive
dir- as Director of Equitable Community Development at Palenke
LSNA, formerly Logan Square Neighborhood Association, I
worked with the Chicago Metro- Metropolitan Agency for Planning and
Elevated Chicago over the course of two years to develop the Logan
Square Blue Line Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Action
Plan. This plan received the American Planning
Association's first ever award for advancing
diversity and justice. Lastly, I have also served as
co-chair of the board of Elevated Chicago.
Elevated Chicago is a citywide collaborative focused on equitable
transit-oriented development. This collaborative worked in a coalition to
advance the Northern Illinois Transit Authority
Act. I believe my experiences and
expertise have shaped me to bring people together from diverse
backgrounds to advance solutions that make Chicago a more affordable,
equitable, and connected region.
As a Chicagoan, I have always relied on and enjoyed public
transportation, and I remain a frequent, frequent rider
today. Through that experience, I have seen firsthand the
challenges riders face, including service delays,
overcrowding, reliability concerns, and the need for safe, clean,
and accessible stations and vehicles.
At the same time, data consistently shows that the two largest
expenses for most households are housing and
transportation.Underscoring how closely these systems are
connected.
We are living through a period of significant change and transformation in our
society, particularly within the regional
transportation systems that serve the Chicagoland area.
I believe that all people, regardless of race, income,
immigration status, gender expression, or background, deserve
equitable access to reliable and affordable
transportation. It is truly an honor to be considered for this
role. The responsibilities of the Metra include governance and
policy oversight, budgeting and fares, service
planning, and ensuring accountability to the public.
If given the opportunity to serve, I look forward to working
collaboratively with external partners, policymakers,
labor leaders, the administration, members of this committee, and
others to uphold the board's responsibilities and help ensure that Chicago
remains a safe, affordable, and connected region for all.
Thank you for your time, and I welcome any questions from the committee.
Thank you, Mr. Diaz. Uh, are there any questions from the committee
members? Uh, Alderman Rodriguez.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, Christian, it's, it's really nice seeing you
here. Um, you know, I've-- I remember you
as a, as a, as a young leader, back when I was at
ENLACE. So hearing you talk about, and have
others talk about, your experience and all the things you've
done, since those days as a young leader over in Logan
Square, while I was in Little Village and didn't see you day to day,
I certainly saw you enough and know the breadth of
intelligence that you have, hard work, and
determination. Um, so I, I certainly support your
appointment and would enjoy hearing a little bit more about the work at
Elevate. I know you're the co-chair of Elevate.
Um, I know s- most of my committee members, most of our committee,
fellow committee members are familiar with Elevate, but if you'd give it a
little bit more color and talk about what your role is there, how
often you work in that space, what some of that work look like, what are the
priorities, things of that nature.
Sure. Uh, thank you for the question, Alderman.
It's an honor to be here. I have been co-chair of Elevated
Chicago twice. Elevated Chicago is a
collaborative, a citywide collaborative that is focused on
equitable transit-oriented development.
We have steering committee members from all parts of the
city, and, together, we
have championed the Connected Communities Ordinance.
We have established an Elevated Works program, which is a
capacity-building initiative that connects capital and,
expert- technical assistance to communities that want
to develop, equitably near transit.
Not just affordable housing, but really any type of housing, any type
of small business, arts and culture, also looking at public health
outcomes. I think at Elevated Chicago, we believe
strongly that the areas surrounding any transit system
are crucial to the economic success of any
community, and we must invest in areas near public transit
in order to unlock the full potential of the city of Chicago.
Uh, Elevated Chicago includes members like the Center for
Neighborhood Technology. It includes members like,
CDPH and other, government
agencies. And, I'm very proud of the work that we've done
there. I've served as board director twice, co-chair, and
I'm actually incoming as a, as a system change-- systems change,
working group co-chair now with the Center for Neighborhood
Technology. And, we seek to advance, racial
equity, environmental justice, and economic development near public
transit. I think that's crucial.
Uh, I wanna give a shout-out to Thrive Exchange by Deal Three
Realty in the Seventh Ward. Um, this is, an
equitable transit-oriented development, affordable workforce
apartments, right at the Chantholem Seventy-Ninth Street
Metra Electric Station. And I had the opportunity to tour
that site, a few weeks ago with the Chicago Rehab Network,
and I was so inspired to see brand-new
affordable workforce development happening right next to the Metra
station. Uh, but I also saw several vacant lots and future
opportunities for more development.
I think we need more housing near transit and more economic
opportunity, near transit. And so that is a voice and
perspective of Elevated Chicago that I hope to bring to the Metra board if I'm
appointed today.
Um, I, I'll, I'll just leave one more question 'cause I, I don't know if, any
of my other colleagues ha-have any.
But, I'm chair of Workforce Development here at
City Council, and the labor force here in the city matters a lot to
me. Uh, getting them paid more, getting more union
jobs, particularly the relationship between labor and government is
important. Um, it's a, you know, it's for immigrants, for
minority communities, for every community, it's such an important entryway into the
middle class. And I know that we're gonna have, funding
crunches. We have funding crunches in transportation.
Um, we know that we're not getting any federal support, so we're gonna need
very creative thinking, to be able to bring the resources to
our transportation networks, our regional transportation networks, that
also doesn't sacrifice, labor
and, takes austerity approaches to labor.
So I just wanted to say that, and I, I th- I'm pretty sure you're committed to
that, but I just wanted to say that and make sure that, you know, I'm gonna be
looking, I'm gonna be holding people accountable to that framework.
Um, and I hope you're-- I, I'm pretty sure you would be open to that, and I'm
looking forward to that, to that, to that kind of engagement. So thank you.
Thank you, Alderman.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Um, I wanna welcome, um
Alderman Villegas to, a non-member to our
committee, and also
A- Alderman Deborah Silverstein to our committee, non-member.
Um, Alderman Conway, question?
And, so, Mr. Diaz,
what,
w- you know, what do you think that Metra can be, can be doing
better, for, for the folks, for the
folks of the city of Chicago?
Alderman Conway, I really appreciate that question.
I think there's so much opportunity.
We are in a unique period of transformation for public transportation
systems as the pace, as the RTA is
transforming into the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act.
Uh,
I, I feel super privileged that I had the opportunity to ride the Metra
this morning to come here, and I didn't ride it by
myself. I actually asked,
Emmanuel Garcia, who I think is still here. Hey, Emmanuel.
Uh, Emmanuel is a high school student.
Uh, he attends a high school, downtown Chicago.
He takes the Metra every morning, and I asked if I could just tag along with him
and his friend, to see it for myself and experience it for
myself. Um, I also recently took a Metra trip
downtown from the Healy Station on the Milwaukee North Line,
which I live very close to. Uh, what I observed, I
really appreciated there being a Divvy station right outside.
Um, I appreciated there being a ramp so that I could walk up,
to the train station, and I appreciated there being a shelter with
heating, so that I could wait, be, feel comfortable while I
wait, for the Metra train. Um, I went downtown,
and then I took that ride back, to Morgan
Park. And so
I share this because truly, as is
true for many issues in Chicago, depending on where the station
is, you're gonna have different experiences.
And I think an opportunity for Metra, and really for all public transportation
systems, is to invest more in our stations, to
improve lighting, to improve signage.
I would like for it to be easier to transfer between CTA stations to
Metra stations. Uh, sometimes it's difficult to find
where the Metra station is exactly.
Uh, sometimes it's difficult, especially if you're a
mom with kids and you're carrying grocery bags.
Um, not every station is ADA accessible, so sometimes it's difficult to
just even get up to the platform. Um, I think an improvement to the Metra
could also be more frequent service.
Uh, if you miss the Metra for any reason, and you have to get to work, you have
to wait another hour for the next Metra train. Sometimes, right?
Not during rush hours. Um, but all that to say is that
I think, the priorities of the Metra should
be, increasing ridership. Uh, ridership has gone
down significantly, significantly since the pandemic.
However, 90, over 90% of Metra
riders, who used the Metra before the pandemic,
are back and using it. However, because work cultures have changed
since the pandemic, you'll see a lot less ridership
on Mondays and Fridays because people are working hybrid.
Um, and then the last thing I'll say is that it's St.
Patrick's Day parade this weekend, which means this is gonna be a very,
very busy weekend for the Metra. So they've added services,
added more, frequent service.
Um, but something that, a trend that's really interesting to note,
following, you know, as we're recovering from the pandemic and,
and its impacts, is that we're seeing a lot more ridership during the
weekends, from people in the Chicagoland region who wanna come to
Chicago to have a great time with their friends and to spend their
money here. And if people are willing to come into the city to have fun, to
support our small businesses, we should make that easier for them.
And so I'm very interested, like I said, in improving, the
stations themselves, adding more frequent service,
and just thinking holi- holistically for the future,
how can we best leverage, publicly, publicly owned land
near the Metra stations to facilitate more small business, more housing
development, and things that are gonna make Chicago a more affordable and connected
city.
Do... I don't mean to put you on the spot here, but, uh-
No, that's okay. Yeah
... do, like, how often do you ride the Metra?
And I guess as, as a member of the board, how often do you plan to ride the Metra
as part of this?
Thank you, Alderman. That's a great question.
I don't frequently ride the Metra.
I live, close to the Logan Square Blue Line station.
Uh, but I have ridden the Metra before.
Uh, the last time I took it was this morning with Emmanuel Garcia.
Thanks for bringing me along. Uh, that was a really fun experience.
Um, I also took the Metra last week.
My commitment, if I do have the honor and privilege of being appointed with your
support, is to ride every Metra line, at least
once. I'd like to ride it from Chicago to wherever it ends, going up to
Kenosha, going up to Northwestern Indiana, going west to
Aurora. Um, and my commitment is to ride the Metra as
frequently as I can, and particularly so that I can talk to people on the Metra and
hear directly from the commuters as to what their priorities are and what
their needs are.
I don't, I don't have any other questions. Thank you, Mr. Diaz.
Thank you, Alderman.
Alderman Waguespack? Alderman Waguespack?
Thanks, Chairman. Um, Christian, welcome here today.
Um, I just, I'll be very brief, Chairman.
Um, I just wanna say that many of us over the years have worked both as
individuals, collectively as a council.
Um, many of us have learned, a lot of different
lessons over the years from our colleagues, in the Black
Caucus, the Latino Caucus, now the Asian
Caucus. And-I think we've
all worked very well and as hard as we can to address the
issues of, systemic barriers
in housing, education, transportation,
healthcare, and really advance racial equity in
a way that hadn't been done, I think, many years before.
Um, and I just want you to know that, while I'm a no vote today
for you, we had a good conversation.
Um, I hope that, you know, you keep those things in mind,
that
when you don't see
the things that you want to move forward quickly enough or,
at the pace that some people want, you have to know that
everyone here is working as a group to advance these
issues
in the fairest way possible, and with, you
know, heart from each one of us, that,
that we see these issues, many of us in a
different perspective and a different light.
But we're always open and we're always listening to
what needs to get done to advance, in this case today,
transportation issues. So, I just wish you good luck in your
appointment, and, I hope you learn the ropes very quickly that
you will need to really advance the, not just the Metro,
but the whole of transportation as we're going to see it with the
new NITA board. Um, and that you can
be effective in this position, in the best way that you can and know that
all of us will be, watching closely for every
appointee, as we have over the last several years.
We, we want people with expertise at the table.
Chicago has a lot of people with expertise, and that expertise
needs to be allowed to flourish, and, make
those changes to break down those barriers.
So, I just want to say I wish you good luck, and I appreciate
you speaking to me earlier. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman Waguespack.
Thank you. Um, for the record,
very, very, you're a class act. I appreciate that, your
statements. All right. Um, we have a question from
non-member Gil Villegas.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and, good afternoon, Mr.
Diaz. So,
I see on your resume a, a lot of things that we support here as a body,
given the fact that it's, it's, majority of the members are
minority and women. Um,
how f- so as a board member at Metro, like, and
then soon to be NITA,
w- like, have you thought about how the
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program is gonna come into play, and what your
role as a board member is gonna, gonna be in order to
ensure that as this program's being challenged, what are some of the
other alternatives that can be used in order to accomplish racial and
economic social justice for folks that are looking to do business with
Metro?
Uh, thank you for that question, Alderman Villegas. It's great to see you.
You always wish me a happy birthday on Facebook, so that's al- always something to
look forward to. Um, unfortunately, I'm not super familiar
with the program you are asking me about, but I really hope and
welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you so that I can understand that
more. Um, you know, new board members to
anybody,
can't know everything going in, and so there will be some learning
curve. Uh, and so I appreciate you asking me this question and
pointing my attention toward that program so that I can learn more about it, and
collaborate with you to advocate for the needs of that small business community.
Yeah. Well,
i- it's a program that's, that, that's come under attack by this current
admini- federal administration.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and, it's, it directly impacting local
firms.
Mm-hmm.
Um, disadvantaged business enterprise firms.
And so, I would hope that if you are confirmed, that that's
something that you focus on, because it does have a direct local impact
on economic development. And, it has an opportunity to
hire folks from the community, and ensure that local companies
have the ability to compete with larger firms that often do work with,
rail industries similar to, to Metro.
Um, and so is it... M- Mr. Chairman, is this a paid board?
Is this a paid board?
You know what? I, I am not, I don't think it is.
Mr. Diaz, is it a paid board?
It, this is a paid board, yes.
What's the amount for the paid board?
I believe the, amount is 15,000.
15,000? Okay. All right.
It's 25,000 for the board chair.
Gotcha. Well, this-
Before you, before you continue, is anybody here-
Mr. Chairman
... from the, from Metro or the administrator that can actually speak to
the, to the, to
the board,
the number, the makeup, diversity?
Is anybody here to, to kind of put that on the table for, for
context?
Okay, please do. Yes. Okay. Gil, go ahead.
Yeah.
That should've been... Yeah.
No, thank you. Um,
and then
with the, with the new NITA configuration, it
does really impact the City of Chicago, and so obviously you'll be representing
the City of Chicago on this board. Um, have you, have you
looked at that legislation to kind of figure out how you can
ensure that Chicago has, like, a, a, you know, a pretty good, powerful
voice in this whole new, configuration of the
North- Northern Illinois Transportation Agency?
Uh, thank you, Alderman Villegas, for that question.
Uh, just to clarify, my appointment is only until September
1st.Of 2026.
Gotcha.
So I'm only being appointed... I'm only being-
Oh, gotcha
... considered right now for six months.
Gotcha.
Um, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act goes into
effect on June 1st, and by September 1st, there will
be new appointments to the Metro board, as well as
CTA and Pace, and some of those members will then
also move on regionally to be appointed to,
the NTTA board as well.
Gotcha. Okay. Cool.
Yeah.
Well, in those six months that you're there, can you please begin, I would
like, love to collaborate with you on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
program. That is something that really impacts local firms, and we gotta make sure
that, there's a reflection of the city of Chicago,
with the, the procurement opportunities. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman.
Thank you.
My, my commitment is to collaborate with you, so I, I look forward to working with
you if, if I'm appointed.
Gotcha. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Yeah, one second. Um, a couple of my questions were not necessarily directed at
you. I wanted to put on... Someone's coming down
to...
I was...
Okay.
It's like right now.
It's another committee meeting, that's why I was...
Yeah, I wanted to get...
Well, one, one thing is Rick Estrada is still not on the
board and, uh-
Mm-hmm. Be familiar with that. Yeah, so the, the reason I'm, I'm doing this is
because, people ask, ask me questions I couldn't answer about what, how, how
many, how, what is the makeup, and things like that, and I, I couldn't, I could
not, I couldn't answer.
So I wanted to take this opportunity to do
it.
Okay.
It's not her fault, I know.
I know we've told them that then.
All right, in the meantime, I want to acknowledge,
non-member Felix
Cardona.
Hi, Chair.
Yes?
I'm sorry. I was having technical issues. I don't know if I was called or not.
My apologies. Okay. Does, Alderman Fuentes and
Alderman Vasquez, do you have questions? I see your hand raised.
Uh, thank you, Chair Mitchell. I just have some brief comments, if that's okay with
you, if I can go now?
Okay, that's fine. Go ahead.
All right. Thank you, Chairman. Uh, first, Christian, thank you for being here
today, and it's, it's nice to see you up for this appointment.
Uh, look, I've always appreciated the work that you've done in our community
and across the city, both on equitable transit,
legislation ordinances, and advocacy around what it means to
build development in our communities so that residents of low income can
have access, not just to affordable housing, but to an entire ecosystem
that makes their lives easier. Uh, and that ecosystem includes
transportation. Uh, I've watched you at community town
halls, in political strategic meetings, and within the organizations that you've
had the honor of working with, to always put transportation at the
forefront. Um, and I know how important it is to you, but how important it is to
our community. Uh, I... A lot of your work is in Logan Square, and
I have just a small bit of it, but so much of your work has
impacted larger communities that I represent, like Humboldt Park and also in
Belmont Cragin. The work that we're doing around Encuentro Square Phase
Two, and the access to affordable housing near a
trail like the Bloomingdale Trail that's connected to transit at every single
exit, is extremely important. There's not a lot of people that can live that
close to a beautiful greenery, asset in our
community, have access to transit, and it be affordable.
Uh, with that said, there's still a lot of work that we have to do.
Metro is, is one of the lines and rails that we need to make sure
that we are creating accessibility to, that people are
paying attention to, that we increase ridership on.
And so much of, the state changes we have to account for as for how
we see the future of transit in our city.
Uh, but the thing that I'm confident about is the type of work
and commitment that you will give to this board to make sure that
people are being listened to and that legislators are being brought
in. And I know that, you know, some of my colleagues may have concerns if, if you
would do that. I'm confident that you would do that, 'cause I know you as a
convener. Um, and I'm, I'm excited for what the possibilities
are with you there. I know it's only a six-month appointment, but the one thing
I know about you is that you work with a sense of urgency.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so Christian has my support today, and I, I hope he gets favorable
support across the committee. Thank you, Chairman.
You're welcome, Alderman. Um, Chairman, Vice Chair
Vasquez?
Thank you, Chairman. Um, yes. I, I do appreciate the answers to a lot of the
questions my colleagues are asking, so I wanted to do the thing, Mr.
Diaz, for doing so. I do also appreciate the focus
on the increased housing and affordability as we think about
transportation, as well as the work at Elevated.
So I think I've, I've, two questions just to kind of
verify. Uh, one, I'll be asking for commitment.
So my first question is, are you a
pastor, Mr. Diaz?
I'm sorry, am I a pastor?
This...
Uh, no, I'm not.
Yeah, yeah, I'm just curious, 'cause sometimes the criteria- Okay, thank you.
And not that I have anything against pastors, but I know that in the past, in
Chicago history, we focused less on skill set and what people are
talking about, and a lot more related to
who knows whom. So I do appreciate that you bring a level
of knowledge and understanding related to the role, even,
that I appreciate. So I guess my next question would be-Uh, kind of a, an
ask from, from you, that as things move forward, I think the
experience at Metra as it relates to customer experience and the
rise is something that I think CTA can definitely learn
from. And I think the more that we learn, like the pr-best
practices, what's happening there, really to be able to
learn and have those kind of-- that information shared with us would be something
that I would value highly. So I was wondering, in that situation where you
are getting the appointment, as obviously it's moving forward now, to be able to
kinda share what the best practices are at Metra related to customer experience
in a way that we can learn as we're, like, having,
hearings with CTA as well.
Thank you, Vice Chair Vazquez.
So would you be able to commit?
You have my commitment, Vice Chair Vazquez. Thank you.
Awesome. Uh, and then the next one I have is, you know, we had a sched- we had a--
I had passed legislation to require quarterly hearings from
CTA because there was a point in time where leadership was not looking to
speak to the council. And so now that we've been able to codify that,
we are having regular hearings. Uh, I would love the opportunity
for sometimes to have Metra be able to speak or someone from.
So if on the board, would you be willing to make those hearings
if requested, so we don't have to write more legislation?
Oh, absolutely, Alderman. You have my commitment.
All right. Thank you so much. Um, I look forward to more conversations.
I think members here know that, like, when it comes to transit and what it means
to every single person in Chicago, how it connects people not only
to the places they work or their homes, but to the people they love, and it builds
community in certain ways. Having people that have the heart and understanding of
that is crucial to the improvement of our whole
ecosystem as it relates to transit.
And so I look forward to your efforts in helping improve
that for folks and, looking forward to opportunities to partner.
So thank you very much, and thank you, Chairman.
Thank you.
Thank you, Vice Chair. Uh, Alderman
Irvin.
Oh, Bianca.
Ald-Alderman
Irvin.
He got his hands or his hands are
hanging.
There he is.
It's the button with the microphone with the line through
it.
All right.
J-
Jason.
Go ahead, Alderman Irvin.
Oh, you didn't hear me? I'm sorry.
We-
Can you hear me now?
Yeah, bet-
Yes.
You're faint, but we can hear you.
Oh, okay. My apologies. I guess my, my question is to the previous
speaker as it relates to what was the concern
if he was or was not a
pastor?
Um...
Yeah, happy to answer it. Thank you for asking.
Uh, as I stated in my, answer, it was not concerned about whether someone
was
or wasn't a pastor. It was more, are they only a pastor and someone who's never
ridden a train? Thank you.
I mean, I, I think that's, I think that's highly inflammatory, and then
people may take some offense to that.
So I, I caution you on the type of tone and words that you use as it relates
to-
Who, who's asking?
-pastors in the African American community, sir.
I, I never mentioned what community either.
All right.
But the-
Uh, but I know what you were trying to say.
So that's, that's where we wanna leave it at. Are you clear?
I say what I wanna say. Thank you.
You can say what you wanna say, but understand that, you know, people will respond
to what you state. That's all.
Gentlemen.
All right.
Based off on Zoom, I won't say it in their face.
Hey. Now-
I see you.
Now-
Just wanna remind ourselves, meeting's recorded, so we should save it for later,
please.
Please put your-- refrain the comments and then put you guys,
go back to mute, please.
One second, guys.
You know, our committee, some information is being gathered right now, so
can I request a, a ten, a quick ten-minute recess
before we take a vote?
Can I get a, all those in favor? The ten-minute. Aye.
Those opposed, no. The opinion of the chair to ayes have it.
We're recessed for about ten
minutes.
You
got a chance?
They gonna hold it.
Teachers pulled up the board.
Yes.
But that
period.
Coming back.
All right. All right, members, thank you for allowing me to
recess. Um, the item that was on the table, we're going to
hold that item
in committee. Uh,
s- so with that said, there being no further business before the committee, can I
get a motion to adjourn by the same roll call vote as was applied to determine
quorum? So moved by Alderman Nugent.
On the motion, all in favor say aye. Opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The meeting of the Committee on Transportation and Public Way is now
adjourned.