1. Tell us about yourself.
(Provide us with a brief summary about who you are, how long you have lived in the ward, what made you decide to run, and/or why you want to be an alderman.)
My name is Martha Rangel. I am a lifelong resident of the McKinley Park neighborhood. I am the second youngest out of 5 siblings, 3 girls and 2 boys. I attended Evergreen Academy, Thomas Kelly High School and Graduated with a B.A in Spanish from Northeastern Illinois University as well as an associate degree in early childhood education from St. Augustine
I was inspired by understanding that I have unique opportunity to make a change in our community. I see the impact that I make in people’s lives just as I did as a Director for a Child Care Center and currently as a Case Worker. To know that I can make a difference to my whole community in this position has inspired me to work as hard as I can to get there. I decided to run for office because I believe that our community deserves better. better support for our schools, a better environment that is clean and safe, and stronger leadership in order to stand up against corruption.
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2, Tell us about the women in your life
(Suggestions include: Share with us something about the importance of women in politics, who is your female political idol, who is/was the most influential female in your life, what challenges have you faced as a woman running for alderman and how have you overcome them, and/or any community involvement around women’s services, women’s rights.)
I believe that our time is now, they say it’s “the year of the woman”, the time for women to take control of the decision making of our country and our communities. When it comes to political idols, I love what Alexandria Cortez has done in New York, she overcame the odds and stuck to her platform, she found a call to action in her community and she answered the call. It is amazing to me how much she has done in a short period of time. Her will and determination to go against the odds and win is inspiring to me. That being said my idol is Dolores Huerta, what an amazing representative of the Latino community and women. History remembers Cesar Chavez, but in reality, we know that Dolores was the heart and passion of the United Farm Workers. She never gave up, she was the one that said “si se puede”, “yes we can”! She was able to bring the farm owners down and win justice for her people. She broke down barriers and never stopped. She was beaten and left for dead, yet she rose and continued to fight. Dolores is my inspiration, I want to bring change to the 12th Ward just like Dolores did to our people and the United Farm Workers.
3. Tell us about your Ward
(Briefly provide our audience with information about your ward. Suggestions include: What neighborhoods your ward covers; what is unique about your ward; landmarks; favorite places to hang out - consider highlighting women-owned businesses; the make-up of the community - including women’s organizations and services; what’s the vibe like, what is healthy and successful about your ward; and/or what is the most concerning issue impacting your ward.) the 12 th ward is full of culture and diversity.
We have McKinley Park, Brighton Park and South Lawndale Neighborhood. Each has its own unique personality. McKinley Park is famous for its park and its history of being an industrial corridor for the ward. The environment in the ward has been high on pollution throughout the years with factories all throughout McKinley Park. South Lawndale and Brighton Park are heavy Hispanic neighborhoods with the Asian population steadily rising over the last 10 years. What I can say is healthy about the ward is its diversity. The ward has deep and rooted family values with various small festivals popping up in the summer and spring time. Some of the biggest pressing issues in the community is pollution and unemployment. As the first Alderwoman I look forward to changing that narrative by bringing in green energy jobs like “the Green New Deal”. That would not only clean our environment but bring new jobs to the community, in Solar, Air, wind and all renewable energy jobs.
4. Platform Questions
A. Schools: Chicago’s school population is declining. This means there are fewer students to educate, but the population shifts are not equally distributed. How will you ensure that students in all parts of the city have access to quality and safe education while taking into consideration changing population and the impact of that?
I understand that our CPS population may be declining, but that does not mean that we must close schools and jeopardize the safety and education of our children. If class rooms are smaller, I propose using available space for more labs and learning programs like STEM. Smaller class rooms mean better one on one, teacher-student interaction. Just a few years ago we had over population in our schools and now that we have a better ratio CPS wants to close schools? I cannot agree with that notion. By closing schools students have to travel miles to get to their “local school’. Parents have safety concerns regarding travel from home to school. SAFETY PASSAGES are good but not the solution. The solution is investing in our local schools and not closing anymore. Let’s use the available space to create more opportunities for our children.
B. Environment: Chicago faces a crisis of water infrastructure and service. Chicago has more lead lines than any other city in the United States and city testing of Chicago homes with water meters has found nearly 1 in 5 have lead in their tap water. In 2015, City Hall considered privatizing the water system after an unsolicited pitch from investment firm Goldman Sachs. Research has shown that privatization of water utilities often see rate increases, workforce reductions, and a backlog of maintenance issues. In Illinois, a typical household with Lake Michigan water pays more than twice for water service using a privatized utility service than from using a public municipality. Additionally, in 2016, 6,351 households had their water shut off, with the shutoffs affecting over 16,000 individuals. What is your plan to address the challenges that Chicago’s water infrastructure system faces? How will you work towards providing safe, accessible, and affordable water service to Chicago residents? (Community Collaborator: Food and Water Action)
This is a very serious issue that is affecting our families. I did not agree with the Mayor not having public hearings. My understanding is that Alderman Wauguespak called for a public hearing in the Spring of 2018 but that motion was turn down by the mayor. It is important that we are inclusive and transparent with the residents of our ward and this city. The water lead issue has not been resolved and unless we do something quickly, we will end up like Flint Michigan. Replacing our lead pipes should not be a secondary issue, if we are able to fund President Obama’s Library and a $95 Million Dollar Police Academy, we should be able to find resources to change our aging and dangerous lead pipes. Our city is asking residents to pay up to $8,500 to change the pipes but I believe that we must do more to help and assist our homeowners especially low-income families. Whether that is using a portion of our TIF funds to help with repairs or looking at new revenue sources to help offset this cost. We must do all we can to resolve this very urgent crises.
C. Women-Owned Businesses: As showcased by the numerous reports by the City’s Inspector General over the years, there is a perception by many contractors that the lists of women and minority owned businesses are inaccurate and include many businesses that aren’t truly women and/or minority owned. This reputation discourages voluntary use of the list and also may mean that true women and minority owned businesses are not receiving the benefits of the list. What are your thoughts on continuing the use of the list and, if you believe it should continue to be used, should there be changes to how the list is kept and are there ways the City of Chicago can increase confidence in the accuracy of the list?
Usually where there is smoke, you will find fire. I would call for a full and thorough analysis of this list and when it is determined that it is not factual, I would support any measure for a new system. I would call for a public listening, a way for women/minority business owners to directly add themselves to the list and for an oversight committee to make sure the list is accurate and up to date. Our city thrives of minority/women owned business, that is what makes our city unique, with that being said we must protect those investments and make sure that they are given to whom it is intended for.
D. Community Safety: Community safety is critical for residents and visitors in any ward in the City of Chicago. Recently, the city entered into a consent decree to address policies, training, practices and accountability of the Chicago Police Department in an attempt to ensure police reform. While our homicide rate is not the highest in the US and gun violence in Chicago has been declining in recent years, it continues to garner national attention and some neighborhoods have actually seen an increase in murders over the past year. Youth are among the highest at risk for violence and women often bear the burden of keeping children in their families and community safe. Recognizing that the issues surrounding safety are complex and multi-pronged, what is your highest priority with relating to safety of your ward’s residents and who are you receiving advice from to address that priority? (Feel free to include any necessary context for your answer - context may, but does not need to, include citywide considerations, feasibility of implementation, political challenges, concerns regarding overzealous implementation of safety protocol, or anything else necessary to understand your answer.)
You can’t talk about safety without talking about education. Let’s look first at what brings crime to our streets. Low income communities typically do not receive the resource necessary. Being a career educator as a Child Care Director I know how important early childhood development and mentorship programs mean to our children. The more resource we have for our families the better opportunity our Children will have. Let’s invest in free After School Programs that will serve all of the children in our ward. Let’s encourage professionals to lend their time to mentor our youth. All our community asks for is opportunity. When it comes to Policing, we need to give our men and women in blue the necessary resources to protect our city. That being said, I agree that we must have a system of fair accountability. We must also work on building trust between the police and the community. I will work with local community groups, CAPS members and the police to ensure that we work together to have a safe community for our families to thrive in.
5. Closing comments
(Suggestions include: Tell us why you should be alderman, the impact you want to have on the community, your goals for the ward and the city of Chicago. Final thoughts.)
I believe I can bring the change that is needed in our ward. Our communities need a big boost in the local economy, and we must rid ourselves of being an industrial ward. I believe we can bring new and green energy jobs to our community that will not only strengthen our local economy but also clean our environment. I want to rid our community of political corruption and for all residents of the ward to feel represented. I want to invest in our schools all over the ward, no neighborhood will be left behind. Let’s reopen our mental health clinics that will also serve our Asian and Hispanic communities. Let’s focus on bringing in STEM programs to our Chicago Public Schools and invest in free After School Programs and mentorship programs. I am Martha Rangel and I am ready to bring change to the 12th Ward.
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