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Gery Chico
Gery Chico ran for election for Mayor of Chicago in Illinois. He lost in the general election on February 26, 2019.
Chico completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Chico served as Mayor Richard M. Daley’s chief of staff from 1992 to 1995. He was appointed by Daley as board president of Chicago Public Schools in 1995 and filled that role until 2001. Chico was president of the Chicago Park District from 2007 to 2010. He also served as board chair of City Colleges of Chicago in 2010 and chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education from 2011 to 2015.[1]
Chico responded to Ballotpedia's unique candidate survey for 2019 Chicago candidates. The survey questions were developed with input from more than 100 Chicagoans in the months preceding the 2019 election. Here is one selected response:
"Gery backs legalized marijuana and a Chicago casino as a way to address the nearly $1 billion in additional annual payments the city’s next mayor will have to make to underfunded public employee pensions."
Click here to read more of Chico's responses.
Elections
2019
See also: Mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois (2019)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of Chicago
Lori Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in the general runoff election for Mayor of Chicago on April 2, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lori Lightfoot (Nonpartisan) | 73.7 | 386,039 |
 | Toni Preckwinkle (Nonpartisan) | 26.3 | 137,765 | |
| Total votes: 523,804 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Mayor of Chicago
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Chicago on February 26, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lori Lightfoot (Nonpartisan) | 17.5 | 97,667 |
| ✔ | | Toni Preckwinkle (Nonpartisan) | 16.0 | 89,343 |
 | Bill Daley (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 82,294 | |
 | Willie Wilson (Nonpartisan) | 10.6 | 59,072 | |
 | Susana Mendoza (Nonpartisan) | 9.0 | 50,373 | |
 | Amara Enyia (Nonpartisan) | 8.0 | 44,589 | |
 | Jerry Joyce (Nonpartisan) | 7.2 | 40,099 | |
 | Gery Chico (Nonpartisan) | 6.2 | 34,521 | |
 | Paul Vallas (Nonpartisan) | 5.4 | 30,236 | |
 | Garry McCarthy (Nonpartisan) | 2.7 | 14,784 | |
 | La Shawn Ford (Nonpartisan) | 1.0 | 5,606 | |
 | Bob Fioretti (Nonpartisan) | 0.8 | 4,302 | |
 | John Kozlar (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 2,349 | |
 | Neal Sáles-Griffin (Nonpartisan) | 0.3 | 1,523 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 86 | ||
| Total votes: 556,844 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Catherine Brown D'Tycoon (Nonpartisan)
- Dorothy Brown (Nonpartisan)
- Ja'Mal Green (Nonpartisan)
- Conrien Hykes Clark (Nonpartisan)
- Sandra Mallory (Nonpartisan)
- Richard Mayers (Nonpartisan)
- Roger Washington (Nonpartisan)
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Chicago 2019 Candidate Survey
Gery Chico completed Ballotpedia's Chicago candidates survey for 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Chico's responses.
Low-income families do not have the same choices, options, or alternatives when it comes to public school. How can this be addressed?
As mayor, Gery's top priorities will be ensuring that all children have the same access to quality school facilities and excellent teachers. At the same time, he will take immediate action to start creating more comprehensive career and technical opportunities for our students. Without high-quality education, opportunities get foreclosed. This is an unacceptable outcome in a city as great as Chicago.
How would you address inequality within and between schools?
Gery went to a CPS school -- Kelly High School -- and credits his education to his success and he believes our neighborhood schools are the building blocks of our communities. Every student deserves a quality education and needs to be in a new or renovated school with state-of-the-art infrastructure and teachers that receive proper training.
How can public schools better support their teachers and work more productively with the teachers’ union, parents, and the community?
Gery believes we need to have high-quality teachers, first and foremost, but to be a great school you need more than just great teachers. He will investing in principal and school leadership development programs, including principal training and residency programs, to ensure that every Chicago Public School has a high-quality principal that every student, teacher, and family deserve. While teachers have the most direct impact in the classroom, research makes clear that high-quality leadership creates the conditions for improving instruction.
What do you believe are the greatest needs of kids in school today? How would you prioritize these needs and address them?
Gery believes that the greatest need of students today is receiving a quality education and adhering to their unique needs. He will reinvest in neighborhood schools by fighting for capital money in Springfield in order to modernize and renovate schools in every neighborhood. Additionally, he will utilize TIF funds for the construction of any new schools. Gery also says that four-year universities are not for everyone, and it’s time to get serious about providing education alternatives that will lead to substantial careers. He plans to introduce the largest expansion of technical and vocational schools in order for these students to reach their own academic goals.
What are your proposals for supporting children before and after school? What would be your ideal afterschool programs?
Gery plans to create after-school programs in high crime neighborhoods to keep kids in the classroom and learning, rather than out on the streets. He also will expand the city’s One Summer Chicago program to provide more kids with vital work experience and help keep them off the streets.
Do you believe that there is corruption in Chicago politics, such as pay-to-play practices when the city awards bids? If so, how would you address it?
In 2011, Gery Chico introduced and fought for the Sunshine Chicago platform to promote transparency and more ethical behavior in city government. While the city has done a better job in this area – it has miles to go before it will be able to give Chicagoans the government it deserves. Eight years later, Gery is expanding on his Sunshine Chicago platform by drawing very clear lines for elected officials to abide by and also be strengthening the authorities responsible for enforcing the rules. Gery believes in ending aldermanic prerogative, banning all outside income, introduce the Chicago's Inspector General and Board of Ethics to oversee all ethics-related matters and create term limits for elected city officials to hold those in authority positions accountable.
How would you make the city’s policies more responsive to community input instead of donors or special interests?
The foundation of his campaign and his focus for his time as mayor are the concerns of the people of this city. It is important to Gery to visit all 50 Wards to talk to the residents of this city and find solutions to their issues and concerns. He believes that everyone has a seat at the table and that their voice should be heard regarding matters of this city.
How would you handle the “recurrence of unaddressed racially discriminatory conduct by officers” identified in the U.S. Justice Department’s investigative report of the Chicago PD published in 2017?
All discrimination is unacceptable in any capacity, especially with the people we are to trust with our lives. Gery believes that CPD officers should be requiring to partake in 75 hours of annual training on topics such as de-escalation techniques, mental health, spotting troubled officers, use of tasers and implicit bias.
What sort of proposals would help reduce police shootings and fatalities?
Gery will create the Mayor’s Office of Violence & Reduction Committee to oversee the city’s public safety strategy. He believes a holistic approach -- strategically working with CPD, city agencies, social services and philanthropic organizations -- will make our city safer and stronger.
What ideas do you have to reduce the availability of illegal or unregistered guns in Chicago?
Gery wants to create a new position of CPD Deputy Superintendent for Gun Violence Prevention whose officers are specifically trained to hunt down illegal guns and take them off our streets permanently. If need be, Gery would consider suing bordering states -- Illinois and Wisconsin -- and stop their flow of guns into our city.
How will you help to rebuild trust in the police department and to encourage the community to work with police?
Gery believes that the police can only do their jobs if the community has faith in them. Without that faith – neighbors don’t report crimes, they don’t call with tips and they don’t identify who the gang members are that are destroying too many neighborhoods. Gery will reinforce the concept of community policing and have it implemented throughout the city.
How would you address criminal justice issues such as prison reform and the reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons into city life?
Gery believes that we need to keep nonviolent offenders out of jail. Incarcerating people is costly and it does little to stop them from committing crimes. We need to institute a practice of deferring prosecution for minor, non-violent crimes on the conditions of schooling, community service, and no further confrontations with the law. Also, we need a robust economic plan to help our struggling neighborhoods and citizens.
How would you address the displacement of people of color and long-term residents from their neighborhoods?
Gery would stop taxing issue, bring access to schools in low-income areas -- especially high school -- and bring economic investment to the South and West Sides.
How would you care for the most vulnerable Chicagoans?
Gery wants to reinvest in mental health services, grow economic opportunity, provide a quality education to all students, and ultimately he will care about people in the neighborhoods and low-income areas as much as downtown.
How would you ensure that development benefits residents in their neighborhoods and not solely the developers and other interests?
Gery knows that with a revitalized infrastructure we can attract businesses to every part of our city. He also knows that far too many neighborhoods have historically been neglected, and that this pattern has created a feedback loop that sustains broken social infrastructure, lack of opportunity and increased crime. To bring development and increased prosperity to every neighborhood, Gery will focus on rebuilding long neglected neighborhoods by improving schools, small business, public transit, etc.
How would you distribute revenue fairly between neighborhoods?
Gery believes in expanding the city’s Retail Thrive Zones program to which will provide additional help to small businesses and entrepreneurs applying for economic development incentives in targeted areas. Additionally, he will focus on development of commercial streets in every neighborhood, so that each community’s entrepreneurial spirit can thrive and help bring back vacant storefronts.
How do you propose to resolve the city’s underfunded pension plan for city employees?
Gery backs legalized marijuana and a Chicago casino as a way to address the nearly $1 billion in additional annual payments the city’s next mayor will have to make to underfunded public employee pensions.
What’s your opinion on tax increment financing (a program that funds development using any additional property tax revenue that results from an increase in appraised property values)? What, if any, changes would you make to the use of TIF?
Gery wants to use surplus TIF dollars to shore up city finances, specifically he plans to return the money to CPS and other taxing bodies.
How would you assess the city's finances, and if your proposals would require new spending, how would you pay for them?
Gery says the wealthy must pay their fair share. When he’s mayor, those buying million-dollar-plus houses will pay an extra one percent to the city, and owners of Chicago’s commercial office skyscrapers will finally pay what they owe. Gery doesn't want to put another brick on the backs of the working-class.
Would you be in favor of freezing property taxes, at least for low-income households, so that people can stay where they are living?
Gery will not commit to freezing any taxes and believes we can re-think other options to fix our city's property tax problem.
How would you increase access to quality food and urgent care in all parts of the city?
Gery will combat the food desert issue that has long plagued the city. Only then can residents have access to the healthy, fresh food they need. His plan calls for providing reduced-fare bus routes to combat food deserts, pushing for a $15 minimum wage and expunging minor convictions to allow people to find employment. In turn, his plan will also create foot traffic for nearby businesses and also bring these residents to places of accessible health care as well.
How will you address public health concerns such as contaminated drinking water, rat infestation, and lead poisoning?
Gery wants the moratorium on water shut-offs put in place immediately, and a low-income plan similar to the state’s LIHEAP program, which covers gas and electricity, saying an installment plan isn’t enough for low-income residents who can’t afford their water bills. He also wants water filters in any home with a high lead concentration to be financed through aldermanic TIF funds and wants to work with the state and federal government to help finance paying for new water lines to homes and apartments.
How would you make Chicago a cleaner city with less waste and pollution?
Gery plans to reinvest in recycling and clean energy programs and practices to combat our waste and pollution issues.
What would be your first steps for improving the transit system in terms of affordability, accessibility, and safety?
Gery is concerned about the future of funding for our transportation system. He wants Chicago to be world class city and we can’t do it without our transit system. Gery believes the transit system is the arteries and veins of our city and we must make it affordable and accessible for all.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
The following themes were found on Chico's 2019 campaign website.
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PUBLIC SAFETY AFFECTS EVERY CHICAGOAN An average of 12 shootings per day. Innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire. Innocent children dying. While we don’t lead in the “per-capita” category, our reputation is hurting everywhere. Chicagoans know that this is not the character of our city. We know we are better than this. Now, it is time to show it. There is literally no higher priority for the next mayor of Chicago, than to address public safety in our communities. In order to achieve real change on this challenge, we’ll first need to confront some hard facts. It starts with law enforcement. Gery believes that police can only do their jobs if the community has faith in them. Without that faith – neighbors don’t report crimes, they don’t call with tips and they don’t identify who the gang members are that are destroying too many neighborhoods. Gery believes that the vast majority of police are honest and decent professionals with incredibly hard jobs. They put their own lives at risk to protect ours. But it only takes a few bad cops that aren’t punished for committing horrible acts to shake the community’s faith in the police. That is why Gery believes that the first of many steps to ending the cycle of violence in our communities is to restore trust with the police. To do so, we must fire Eddie Johnson. There is overwhelming evidence that as a sergeant, district commander, and as superintendent, Johnson has personally blocked or turned a blind eye when police officers clearly broke department procedure, broke the law and broke the community’s trust. And with a homicide clearance rate less than half the national average, Johnson has failed at his job. After that first step, Gery will be initiating a Mayor’s Office of Violence Prevention and Reduction. He will appoint a Director of Public Safety, which will be a cabinet-level position reporting directly to the mayor. The Director of Public Safety will oversee the city’s public safety strategy in partnership with CPD, the Police Superintendent, federal authorities, city agencies, community groups and other stakeholders. The Director will also identify and advocate for city investment in empowerment programs that target individuals who are most at-risk to be involved in violent crime. Gery is fully prepared to invest in promising anti-violence programs on the front end – in order to save thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars over the long term. Gery has mapped out a thoughtful and holistic plan to make our communities safer and stronger.
Restoring Community Trust In Law Enforcement Gery believes the vast majority of cops are good people doing an extremely challenging job. But police shootings of Laquan McDonald, Reika Boyd, Christian Green and too many others have shaken our community’s trust in the police. Gery was instrumental in bringing Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) to Chicago, which changed the way we do policing from a reactive “answer calls method” to a proactive one with neighbors and police working together to keep communities safe. To restore trust, Gery will focus on:
Getting Tough On Gun Crime Gery believes that the criminal justice system must become far more aggressive in taking guns, gang members and violent offenders off our streets. Furthermore, Gery believes that to the only way to truly limit the number of guns flowing into Chicago, we need to work with Indiana and Wisconsin or sue them to get them to enforce their gun laws. To get tough on gun crime, Gery will focus on:
Ending The Pipeline To Prison Gery believes that we need to keep nonviolent offenders out of jail. Incarcerating people is costly and it does little to stop them from committing crimes; 45% of offenders return to jail within three years. We need to institute a practice of deferring prosecution for minor, non-violent crimes on the conditions of schooling, community service, and no further confrontations with the law. Also, we need a robust economic plan to help our struggling neighborhoods and citizens. Gery will also invest in and strengthen programs that are geared toward changing the lives of the young men who are most at-risk. He has fueled these efforts in the past and seen the results. Gery will back new initiatives that target – through the use of scientific data and proven practices – those individuals who are most likely to be involved in violent crime. No child is born with an instinct to grip a gun and pull the trigger. These are real human beings, and many of them will take advantage of opportunities to change their lives. We know this, which is why Chicago must invest in and augment the programs that already exist and have shown signs of real results. To end the pipeline to prison, Gery will focus on:
Strengthening The Police Department Gery believes strongly that the Chicago Police Department is made up of some of our city’s finest residents. No job is harder and there is no one we ask more of than the men and women in blue. But in Chicago, politics has gotten in officers’ way far too often and caused limited resources to be misdirected. To enhance our police department, Gery will focus on:
Gery believes that implementing these changes will begin the process of moving Chicago in the right direction on Public Safety. Gery knows that we can make Chicago Safer, Stronger, Together.
A great city needs a great school system, and a great school system needs the support of a great city. The two go hand-in-hand, and Gery understands that strengthening our economy and improving the lives of all Chicagoans begins with ensuring that all children have access to the high-quality education they deserve. Gery believes that schools are the “great equalizers” in our society and that every Chicago child should have the same opportunity to attend a “world class” school. Moreover, Gery believes that the neighborhood school is the anchor of the community. If your local school is thriving, your neighborhood is thriving. Gery believes that when the Chicago School Board closed 50 schools in the dark of night – without real community involvement – it tore the guts out of our communities. Gery knows that 90% of CPS students are children of color, and 80% come from economically disadvantaged homes. Gery believes that the time is long past due for the city to live up to its moral obligations and give children in every neighborhood the kind of education that gives them the best chances for success. Right now, however, thousands of parents are not sending their kids to CPS because they have lost faith in our schools’ ability to prepare students for colleges and careers. We’ve lost 150,000 students according to a recent CPS report. These families are paying taxes to support schools that their kids don’t attend, while many are also paying for private school tuition. Gery knows that CPS is wasting millions of dollars to maintain aging and empty infrastructure because families are opting out of CPS. Gery believes we need to restore families’ faith in CPS and start filling those seats. Every single empty chair in Chicago schools represents a loss of potential for our city. Gery understands why families have lost faith in CPS. Over the last eight years, there have been six different superintendents – including one who is serving time in prison. Just as outrageous are the contracting scandals and run-down school facilities that have real impacts on our kids. But Gery knows how to get our schools back on track – because he’s done it before. While President of CPS, Gery built more than sixty neighborhood schools and led what President Clinton described as a turnaround model for the nation. Under Gery’s leadership, CPS saw improved student performance six years in a row, the district funded 100% of teacher pensions – and he turned a $1.3 billion deficit into a $345 million surplus. During Gery’s service as Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, each and every year he fought for more money for public schools and secured hundreds of millions for Pre-K and K-12 schools. He also began the rewrite of Illinois’s education funding formula that is weighted more heavily to low-income students and students with special needs. Consequently, the state sent hundreds of millions more dollars to CPS. More than ever, our school system and our students need Gery again. As mayor, he will put the following education plan into action starting on day one: Rebuilding Our Schools Gery believes that our neighborhood schools are the building blocks of our communities. Too many of our schools are empty and crumbling. Gery believes every student deserves to be in a new or renovated school with state-of-the-art infrastructure. To rebuild our schools, Gery will focus on:
Getting parents to opt into CPS schools as CPS says it has over 150,000 empty seats and more than 60,000 seats in the highest performing schools.
Creating College and Career Ready Students Gery believes that what makes Chicago so attractive to business is our central location and our amazing infrastructure, but more than anything, our highly educated workforce. In spite of the crisis in Springfield that has underfunded our schools, and the contracting scandals that have plagued CPS, Gery knows we can turn our schools around and create yet another generation of highly educated kids who will get good jobs and provide for their families. To prepare our kids for their future, Gery will focus on:
Investing In Staff and Teachers Gery believes we need to have high-quality teachers, first and foremost, but to be a great school you need more than just great teachers. Schools need reading support specialists to help kids catch up to their peers. Students need social workers, especially in high crime areas, to help them through difficult issues so that they can focus on school. And they need librarians to spread the love of books. To give our kids the support they need, Gery will focus on:
Gery intends to work with the state of Illinois to fund schools at the recommended per-pupil funding level. He will also push for the state to assume all CPS pension obligations, as it does for all other school districts. As he has shown time and time again as President of CPS, Chair of the City Colleges and Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education, Gery knows how to deliver results. He is ready on day one to apply his depth of experience and expertise to implement these reforms to move CPS in the right direction. As mayor, Gery’s top priorities will be ensuring that all children have the same access to quality school facilities and excellent teachers. At the same time, he will take immediate action to start creating more comprehensive career and technical opportunities for our students. Without high-quality education, opportunities get foreclosed. This is an unacceptable outcome in a city as great as Chicago. Gery Chico will do what he’s done before: lift up our system and our students.
A great city is a reflection of its people. But unless a city invests in all of its people, true greatness will always elude it. Gery knows that Chicago is the biggest city in the country that is losing population. This negative trend is happening because too many working families have been affected by crime and slammed with billions of dollars in taxes – while not being able to find well-paying jobs to support their families. At the same time, far too many Chicagoans face real poverty and lack of opportunity. This challenge is not new. The inequality that exists in our city started long ago and has been sustained in large part by the continued segregation of Chicago’s neighborhoods. This is a fact, and as a city, it is imperative for us to face up to our history in order to forge a stronger future. Gery understands that Chicago’s downtown and airports are our city’s economic engines. Both are booming, with nearly 50 construction cranes downtown and at O’Hare International. They’re seeing record numbers of passengers and investment. But those economic gains are not being seen or felt by every Chicagoan in every neighborhood. And without economic opportunity, people often turn to crime or move out of the city. In fact, over the last year, Chicago’s employment growth was the slowest of the 12 largest cities in America. Gery believes it doesn’t have to be this way, and this is why he is focused on a plan that will bring jobs and economic growth to all 77 of Chicago’s neighborhoods. Gery will implement a strategy that includes an array of economic development programs in every corner of our great city. At the same time, Gery is always keeping his eye on the financial side of the equation. He has been creating revenue, balancing budgets and generating surpluses for decades in city government. As a former Mayoral Chief of Staff, President of the Chicago Public Schools, President of the Chicago Park District, Chair of the City Colleges and Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education, Gery’s experience managing hundreds of millions and multi-billion dollar budgets runs wide and deep. In addition, as the founder and principal of a 15-year old law firm, he knows what it takes for a business to generate revenue, meet payroll and be responsible for employees. Both through his work as a leader in city government and as the managing partner in his law practice, Gery has delivered results for Chicagoans in every ward of the city. The wide range of development projects he has brought to fruition include: affordable housing, public parks, healthcare service providers, public elementary and high schools, youth empowerment organizations, infrastructure improvements as well as retail and commercial use spaces (for more information on Gery’s track record both on finance and economic development, see further below). The bottom line is that Gery Chico is the only candidate who possesses decades of experience investing in Chicagoans of all ages, creating economic development and jobs in our neighborhoods and balancing complex budgets. He also has a strategy for how to do this for the entire city as our next mayor. Gery will be ready on day one to apply his experience and expertise to execute on every piece of the Chico Neighborhood Economic Development and City Finance Plan. Part 1: Jobs And Neighborhood Economic Development Growing The Middle Class And Protecting Workers Gery knows that our government policy and our economy have funneled most of our prosperity to the few and have lowered wages and removed safeguards for working families. Gery believes we grow our economy from the middle out – with a thriving middle class – not from the top down. Gery strongly supports workers’ rights to organize in a union – union pride is part of his DNA for as long as his family has held membership in the Plumbers Local 130, the FOP, and the Steelworkers. To grow the middle, Gery will focus on:
Rebuilding Our Infrastructure
Development for Every Neighborhood Gery knows that with a revitalized infrastructure we can attract businesses to every part of our city. As well, he knows that far too many neighborhoods have historically been neglected, and that this pattern has created a feedback loop that sustains broken social infrastructure, lack of opportunity and increased crime. To bring development and increased prosperity to every neighborhood, Gery will focus on:
Part 2: City Finance When Gery ran for mayor eight years ago against Rahm Emanuel, he warned of massive taxes on working families, and over the past eight years working families have been smashed with new taxes, fines, and fees. Now, Chico reminds voters that Toni Preckwinkle created a soda tax as well as a new penny sales tax. In Springfield, Susana Mendoza voted for billions in new taxes, and Bill Daley proposed a new commuter tax. Chico says the wealthy must pay their fair share. When he’s mayor, those buying million-dollar-plus houses will pay an extra one percent to the city, and owners of Chicago’s commercial office skyscrapers will finally pay what they owe. Gery believes in growing our economy from the middle out – and this means putting money back into middle class wallets. To do this, the wealthy must pay their fair share to fund our schools and fix our roads. Gery will get the middle class back on track by:
Cost Savings
Gery’s Experience Behind the Chico Neighborhood Jobs, Economic Development and City Finance Plan lies Gery’s decades-long track record of accomplishments on behalf of Chicagoans. Chico knows how to achieve the goals he has presented in the above plan – because he’s done it before. The following is just a sample of some of the programs and projects that Gery has managed and completed: CHICO BUILT AND RENOVATED SCHOOL FACILITIES ACROSS THE CITY
CHICO HAS LED NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF CHICAGO Citywide:
Neighborhoods:
PENSIONS Tackling the city’s pension problem will be one of our biggest challenges. As mayor, Gery will explore a range of options to secure our pension funds including, growing our tax base, cutting the cost of government, seeking a greater share of revenue from the State of Illinois, and asset revenue transfers. He will consider other revenue generating sources to stabilize pensions and pay for city government like optimizing collections for city fees for services, utilizing surplus TIF funds, selling city-owned vacant land, and advertising for revenue before asking taxpayers to foot the bill. Our hard working firefighters, police officers, teachers, and public servants earn their pensions. Gery believes that as a city, we have to honor our commitment to them, just as they commit themselves to making our city a better home for all of us. CITY SERVICES Gery believes that providing services like trash pickup, tree trimming, rat control, graffiti removal, street lighting, and road maintenance is an essential government function. We cannot drop the ball on providing these municipal services predictably and efficiently to all of our residents. Gery will bring new ways to increase oversight and accountability of the government agencies and city contractors who provide these services to make sure Chicagoans are getting the most for the tax dollars they pay.[2] |
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| —Gery Chico's 2019 campaign website[3] | ||
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Who is Gery Chico?" February 7, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Gery Chico's 2019 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 18, 2019
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