Interview with Ald. Gilbert Villegas
“Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job”
So said Alderperson Gilbert Villegas in response to League interviewer Debby Halpern during the Zooming interview that premiered on March 17. Ald. Villegas believes there has not been enough economic development, particularly on the south and west sides, which is why he has been so supportive of Mayor Lightfoot’s “Invest South/West,” along with tax incentives for businesses to locate in those neighborhoods. Watch the full interview.
Ald. Villegas went on to say, however, that there also needs to be a “sense of consequences” among those who would commit crimes. He recognizes why many police officers are frustrated when they arrest someone and then see that person released, whether it be on electronic monitoring or otherwise. But, he also said that we cannot police our way out of crime.
Rather, there must be a three-pronged approach to deal with crime:
Adequately fund the police
Provide sufficient training for the police to deal with the public
Invest in human and community infrastructure
On redistricting of the city’s wards, Ald. Villegas urges each person to review the People’s Coalition Map as well as the Rules Committee Map, and let your alderperson know your thoughts on each. As the head of the Latino Caucus, Ald. Villegas supports the People’s Coalition Map.
Ald. Villegas chairs the City Council’s Economic, Capital, and Technology Development Committee. The idea for the “dining outdoors” initiative to help restaurants during the pandemic came from this committee. He also made sure that the city put forward a technology assessment, which confirmed that data systems were outdated.
The Economic, Capital, and Technology Committee will be holding hearings in April (likely April 19) with the Fleet Operations Department and the CTA to find out what is needed for each to meet their deadlines for having an all-electrical fleet of vehicles. The deadline for public transportation vehicles in the city is 2035. The deadline for the CTA is 2040.
Ald. Villegas refers to his northwest side 36th Ward as the “bungalow beltway,” though it also encompasses industrial Grand Avenue as well as commercial Fullerton and Armitage Avenues and the Brickyard Mall.