>> Chicago's race for mayor is officially underway as candidates can begin collecting signatures this week for a spot on February's ballot.

Former cardiologist.

Lisa, me is one of those candidates saying her campaign will be focused on affordability, safety and fiscal responsibility.

She's part of an already crowded field of candidates who announced a run for the city's top job.

And she joins us now to talk about her campaign.

Welcome Drd.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

So you you say that you're not a politician.

We know you're a and not a politician.

Much like some of the last 2 people or 2 of the last elected mayor of Chicago.

But what do you see as your qualifications to lead the city?

I think the qualification start with first being a lifelong Chicago.

I mean, I've lived here my entire life, so corrupt humble park.

>> And very poor section and learns to, you know, navigate those challenges.

The other have follow me on the journey from nursed a physician to whistleblower.

cancer survivor.

We're going into corporate health equity and now really wanting to leave the city.

I think it's a combination of all of those things that you learn to navigate.

Situations, but also learn like we leverage is and who your stakeholders are to get things sell for people.

Your campaign calls for fiscal responsibility and protecting the next generation from inherited debts.

>> What specific proposals to you have to improve the city's financial well-being?

I think fiscal responsibility starts with the first building trust from the people in the city.

Right?

There has to be more transparency and more accountability.

We're just not really doing a good job with doing that and letting voters know how we're making decisions what the data is behind it.

I also think if you look at there's been a lot of work already done.

There's been stunned young, a budget task force.

I mean, there's significant data already out there.

So we really shouldn't reinvent the wheel we should be looking at the top 3 things that keep coming up.

And it's about increasing revenue decreasing costs and then dealing with pension, which is a much bigger problem, though, involves the governor and state legislature right?

Many fiscal reforms, of course, light.

As you said, they would likely require approval of state lawmakers, city council members as well.

>> Are you confident that you could win their support without, you know, having prior relationships with elected officials, the way people who typically elected officials.

What I think we're coming in from an outsider into any organization and you're coming in and people are asking you to make change.

It starts with looking internally and saying what was the root cause analysis that got us here, right?

Everybody is trying to move in the same direction.

All the people in the city Council want to do what's best for the city.

The mayor wants to do what's best for the city.

That should be the easiest relationship to build from, right.

It shouldn't be about ideology.

You are a public servant.

You're here to serve.

The public should all be moving in the same direction.

How would you go about building those relationships if elected?

I think you start with talking to the people already here in the city council because they're here.

You have to work with them and then you get a really great transition team that has done this with other either other cities.

I mean, we have great cities in this country that have done things.

Unfortunately, a little better than we're doing the right now.

And so it's bringing that subject matter.

Expertise some innovation.

The people on the council and then knowing what you can do to pull it through, right, to have to be very intentional on how you're solving these problems.

Another focus of your campaign is to create more affordable housing in the city, especially for working families on how to utilize city-owned space is build housing costs.

I think we can do 2 things a little easier.

Some of these things are going in which our problems.

But I think 2 things, the permit process needs to be expedited.

There's a lot of waste in there and I've spoken to people who wanted to build housing and it took too long and I decided to go somewhere else.

We can't be losing those people to other cities that are growing while we are not growing and then looking at the vacancies.

I think there's about 120,000 vacant places that we can start expediting.

And how do we get that up to speed and filled those?

You know, we just heard Macklin King King of talk about, you know, you be if elected mayor, would you be willing to increase property taxes to fund housing projects?

For example, I think that's a very difficult question.

I'm never going to lie to people and say that it's completely off the table.

However, you would want to steer clear of that.

We are depleting the tax base.

We have a lower population and we keep asking more and more from taxpayers.

So we have to take responsibility as leadership.

First, are we doing our job?

One of the things I'm advocating for sounds very simple.

It's a job description for the mayor.

Everybody that goes to work as a job description.

If they don't fulfill it, they don't get their job any longer.

So we should have a job description that says these are the metrics.

The mayor should be hitting to make sure they're accountable to the people.

What ways would you raise revenue for the city?

I think you have to grow the tax base, but I really think in talking to so many like small and medium-sized businesses, people want to invest here, but they're afraid you're not handling your own fiscal responsibilities.

You're not being true accountability and you're not being transparent.

I think that's where it starts.

When people start building our confidence that you're handling your own internal problems, that they will start coming in and investing in the city later this year.

Mayor Johnson and the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, they'll be with selecting the city's next CPD.

The police superintendent.

>> If you are mayor, what would you be looking for in the next police superintendent?

Well, I think superintendents Ellington a really great job.

I think he very >> positive and how he went about his job.

And I think he had a lot respect both internally and externally.

I would definitely want to make sure that that individual is part of this process.

And I would want to hear from him while he was stepping down.

There has to be a reason why if you're at a place in your career that you're getting accolades and now you've chosen to leave, I would like to learn more about that.

>> Recent Newark poll says that 44% of Chicago residents, they think that crime is going up through city date, though.

City data says otherwise.

think we all know the crime in the city has been going down to think current efforts are not enough to help Chicagoans feel safe.

I don't think people feel safe.

That's what they're saying.

So you have to take that as reality, right?

You want people to feel safe in their own neighborhood and that means every neighborhood.

>> And so what resources are we not utilizing properly?

And what do we need?

More of I think the churn rate of the CPD is a concern, right?

You're losing people more than you can replace them.

That's an issue.

And the other community-based programs.

What metrics are you holding them to?

Right?

Are they achieving what they're supposed to be bringing people back to the community and looking in and making people feel safe in their own community.

Again, we just heard from CPS Superintendent Macklin Cain about the 9.9 billion dollar budget proposal for CPS.

That includes, you know, hundreds of staff, layoffs that have already happened calls for the city to grant CPS 285 million dollars in TIF funding when that surplus is declared.

>> You know, has control over the school district continues to shift away away from the mayor and more towards the voters because we've got the election of the entire school board coming up this fall.

We know how do you see the role of the Chicago mayor with CPS going The the role of the mayor should be collaborating.

You know, you have.

Cps wants to do what's best for students and teachers.

You have CTU that's representing teachers which are in trouble to the education.

And you have the mayor that wants to have a great education system here.

So you're putting people out.

>> They have opportunity and they want to stay in the city, right?

You want to retain the talent that you're putting out, making sure they have opportunity.

Your job as the mayor is to make sure that everybody is moving in the direction for those students and teachers to make sure that happens.

Real quick, 30 seconds.

How do you plan on competing and raising funds in this race when you're going up?

Some some fairly heavy hitters?

I think people want different type of leadership.

I think people want transparency and I think people believe in someone who was a federal whistleblower who stood up to the federal government and didn't back down that you're staying true to Dr Li Cindy, that's where we'll have to leave best of luck to you on the campaign trail.

Thank you so much that.

And additional candidates running for mayor have also been joining us on Chicago tonight.

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