>>> NEARLY A QUARTER OF THE CITY WILL GET NEW LEADERSHIP.

IT IS THE RESULT OF AN UNPRECEDENTED EXODUS OF VETERAN COUNCILMEMBERS THAT LED TO A GENERATIONAL SHIFT IN CHICAGO POLITICS.

AMONG THE NEW LEADERSHIP ARE SIX BLACK, LATINO, AND ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN.

NOT ALL FACES IN CITY HALL WILL BE NEW.

JOINING US NOW ART TWO RUNOFF WINNERS WHO WILL BE WORKING WITH JOHNSON.

THEY HAVE DECLARED VICTORY.

WE HAVE TO SAY THAT BALLOTS ARE STILL BEING COUNTED.

BUT CRUZ CURRENTLY HAS 51% OF THE VOTE AND PAUL VALLAS WAS REELECTED FOR A THIRD TERM.

I WANT TO WELCOME BOTH AND CONGRATULATIONS, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

LADIES FIRST.

>> RUTH, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

YOU WILL BE HEADED TO THE 30th BOARD WHICH INCLUDES THE -- AREA.

YOU ARE BACKED BY THE MAYOR ELECT.

HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH THE JOB AS ALDERMAN?

>> I WILL TAKE THE LEAD WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE WORKING ALTOGETHER, NOT ONLY WITH OUR MAYOR ELECT, BRANDON JOHNSON, BUT ALL LEADERS ACROSS THE CITY COUNCIL, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS TO MOVE THE CITY FORWARD.

WE DEFINITELY WANT TO LOOK INTO THE INTEREST OF OUR WARD.

WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

>> RIGHT, YOU WILL BE GOING INTO YOUR THIRD TERM.

WHAT WILL YOUR PRIORITIES BE?

>> YEAH, SO I THINK THAT AS WE ARE GETTING THE NEW COUNCIL AND MAYOR, WE HAVE TO GUYS THAT WE ARE BENEFICIARIES OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDING.

WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE $1.9 BILLION THAT CAME INTO THE CITY, AND WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE NEW REVENUE WE ARE GOING TO TRY TO GET.

I MIGHT BE THE CHAIRMAN OF ZONING, BUT I WANT TO SIGNAL TO DEVELOPERS AND BUILDERS, CONTRACTORS THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT WE WANT TO GET PROJECTS UP AND RUNNING AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE TO CREATE JOBS AND REVENUE SO THAT THE CITY CAN CONTINUE TO THRIVE.

>> RUTH, YOU WILL BE REPLACING THE ALDERMAN.

HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT, AND HOW MIGHT YOU BE SIMILAR?

>> THE DIFFERENCE IS, I AM A NEW GENERATION WITH NEW DIFFERENT IDEAS THAT WE WILL BE BRINGING INTO THE 30th WARD WITH BEING ACCESSIBLE TO THE COMMUNITY AND TRANSPARENT AS WELL, AND BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY, AND THINGS THAT WE SHARE SIMILAR IS HAVING THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF OUR DECISIONS ARE AGAIN, TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY.

AGAIN, IT IS A NEW DIFFERENT ERA FOR CHICAGO AS YOU MENTIONED BEFORE.

AND THE NEW LEADERSHIP THAT IS COMING IN WILL BE A GREAT ADDITION TO THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO.

>> DEFINITELY.

SPEAKING OF NEW, AS WE KNOW, PRETTY MUCH THERE WILL BE A LOT OF NEW FACES IN CITY HALL.

THE ALDERMAN HAS A RECORD NUMBER ACTUALLY THAT LEFT.

AND HOW WILL THAT CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF CITY HALL, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT YOU WILL HAVE A NEW MAYOR.

>> I THINK THAT IT IS GOING TO BE BRAND-NEW IDEAS.

WE ARE GOING TO HEAR DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND DIFFERENT FOLKS IDEOLOGY.

AND I THINK THAT MAYOR ELECT JOHNSON HAS DISCUSSED HIS PLATFORM AND WE WANT TO SEE WHAT IT IS THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT.

WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING FORWARD A BUDGET OR PUTTING FORWARD A POLICY WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE NECESSARY MEANS TO PAY FOR IT.

I KNOW THAT MAYOR ELECT JOHNSON HAS A BOLD AGENDA.

WE WILL HAVE TO SIT DOWN AS A LEGISLATIVE BRANCH TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN FIND COMMON GROUND ON.

>> PART OF THAT AGENDA IS LEASING.

JOHNSON HAS TALKED ABOUT DELIVERING $150 MILLION OUT OF THE $2 BILLION BUDGET FOR OTHER KINDS OF PROGRAMS.

IS THAT THE KIND OF APPROACH THAT YOU ADVOCATE FOR?

>> I SUPPORT TRUMAN, NOT TRAUMA.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ALONG WITH POLICE OFFICERS TO HELP.

IT NOT ONLY HELPS THOSE WHO NEED THE HELP, BUT ALSO THOSE FOR OUR POLICE OFFICERS WHO WILL ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES.

POLICE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN STRETCHED TOO THIN WITH MANY DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITIES.

BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT, WE WILL BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THOSE VIOLENT CRIME PHONE CALLS, AND THEFT CALLS .2 GIVE THEM THE ABILITY AGAIN TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE NEED IN PUBLIC SAFETY.

>> HOW ABOUT YOU?

YOUR APPROACH TO THE LEASE, BUDGETING AND THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT AND ALSO THAT IS GOING TO BE ANOTHER TASK FOR THE NEW MAYOR.

AND POLICY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.

>> I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OF THE OPINION THAT WE NEED TO FUND POLICE AT PROPER LEVELS AND LISTEN, I CHAMPION THE GUARANTEED BASIC INCOME PROGRAM.

THE LARGEST PILOT PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY.

5000 FAMILIES WOULD GET $500 PER MONTH.

AND ALSO LEAD THE LABOR PEACE AGREEMENT FOR WORKERS AT THE AIRPORT.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE DOING WHAT IS BEST FOR PEOPLE AND GETTING TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF VIOLENCE.

I'M A PROPONENT OF MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE INTRODUCING OUR YOUTH TO THE BUILDING TRADES AND SKILLED TRADES BECAUSE EVERY CHILD IS NOT GOING TO GO TO COLLEGE.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT AVENUES.

>> SPEAKING OF INVESTMENT, WHAT YOU THINK THE BEST APPROACH IS TO HELP ATTRACT SMALL BUSINESSES TO THE COMMUNITY?

>> RIGHT NOW WHAT YOU SAW WITH THE INVEST SOUTHWEST INITIATIVE, THE PROGRAM IS ONE OF MANY PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH MAYOR ELECT JOHNSON TO HAVE THOSE PROJECTS COME TO FRUITION.

IT WILL TAKE UP TO 10 YEARS TO COME ONLINE.

ONCE THEY ARE ONLINE WE ARE MAKING THESE INVESTMENTS IN COMMUNITIES.

BUT WE HAVE TO PUT FORWARD INVESTMENTS IN ORDER TO GET PRIVATE DEVELOPERS TO FOLLOW SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO CREATE JOBS AND CREATE HOPE AND REVITALIZE THE BUSINESS AREA.

>> A SIMILAR APPROACH.

>> YES, ABSOLUTELY.

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE REQUESTING FOR THE MAYOR ELECT TO INVEST , TO BRING CAPITOL INVESTMENT TO OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.

SMALL BUSINESSES ARE IN NEED TO BE ABLE TO THRIVE IN THE COMMUNITY AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PURPOSE TO EMPOWER COMMUNITIES WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE REQUESTING AGAIN .2 MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INVESTING AND WE ARE INVESTING IN THE LATINO COMMUNITIES.

I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL WANT, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE WITH OTHER INVESTMENTS, BUT ALSO THAT WE PRIORITIZE INVESTING IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

>> WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD FROM YOUR COMMUNITY IN YOUR WARD?

WHAT ARE THE MOST WORRIED ABOUT?

WHAT IS THEIR CONCERN?

>> ON THE TOP CONCERNS IS PUBLIC SAFETY.

PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT ALSO THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE GOOD EDUCATION AND ALSO WE ARE LOOKING AT THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS OTHER COMMUNITIES, WHETHER IT IS SAFETY OR EDUCATION , ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES.

THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY IS ALSO LOOKING FOR.

>> YEAH.

I WOULD JUST SAY THAT REMEMBER, WE ARE RELIANT ON BUSINESSES TO SUCCEED WHICH CREATES JOBS AND TAX REVENUE WHICH FUNDS GOVERNMENT.

WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE ARE WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL.

>> WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN?

>> I RAN UNDER A PLATFORM OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

SO I WOULD SAY THAT THEY WERE TOP OF MIND.

I SPOKE TO VOTERS, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE AGAIN THAT WE WANT TO SEE MAYOR JOHNSON SUCCEED AND THE CITY COUNCIL SUCCEED.

WE HOPE THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER TO COLLABORATE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ATTRACTING THE DEMOCRATS NATIONAL CONVENTION HERE.

BIG INVESTMENTS AS WELL AS COMPANIES MOVING TO CHICAGO AGAIN.

>> DOES THAT WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY?

>> I WILL BE WORKING DILIGENTLY AND STRATEGICALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT AGAIN, WE HAVE AGAIN, LIKE A MEASURE BEFORE A THRIVING COMMUNITY.

I AM FROM THE COMMUNITY AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE STRONG LEADERSHIP, BUT LEADERSHIP THAT IS ROOTED IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THIS IS WHO I AM.

EXCITING THINGS.

I AM OVER THE MOON RIGHT NOW.

WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EXCITEMENT IS BROUGHT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.

THE COMMUNITY HAS SENT A LOUD AND CLEAR MESSAGE AND SAID THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AUTHENTICITY, AND ALSO LIKE I SAID, LEADERSHIP ROOTED IN THE COMMUNITY.

>> SAME COMMENT?

>> I'M GOING TO -- MY COMMUNITY SENT ME BACK FOR A THIRD TIME AND OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORTED ME AGAINST THE MACHINE POLITICS THAT WENT AGAINST ME.

THEY UNDERSTAND THAT I DELIVER FOR THE RESIDENTS, AND JUST REALLY READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.

THIS IS THE THIRD MAYOR I AM WORKING WITH AND MAKING SURE THAT WE BRING INVESTMENTS BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.

>> WOULD YOU CONTINUE WITH THAT