Support Aging in Community
Every person is aging. As Trustee, I will ensure that the Village evaluates all our systems – from accessible housing to transportation, from social services to parks – to ensure that people of all ages can have a high quality of life in Skokie.
For example, an age-friendly Skokie would make it possible for residents to live in housing appropriate to their stage in life, from studios to family-sized apartments or houses to safe places for people with disabilities. As Trustee, I would make intergenerational housing and communal living easier to create or preserve. This is a model that I have stewarded in Chicago as the executive director of Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.), which provides an age-integrated housing for low-income seniors who might otherwise feel socially isolated or, for those in an LGBTQ+ community, unsafe. We should also accommodate changes in income or lower incomes, such as the minimum wage, a seasonal or artist’s income, or a fixed Social Security, SSI or child-support income.
In an age-friendly Skokie, the Village’s streets would be as easy for people in wheelchairs or walkers, or people with baby strollers, to navigate as those who can walk unassisted.
As Trustee, I will:
Everyone belongs. Deliver on the promise of community, which means everyone belongs.
Sustainable & economical transportation. Promote environmentally and economically sustainable transportation. Skokie needs to reimagine its paved thoroughfares as people-connectors, not as super-fast gat
Pedestrian-friendly streets. Activate our Complete Streets Ordinance by creating pedestrian-friendly streets.
Less car dependence. Promote development patterns that minimize car dependence, are accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, and draw from the value of transit access.
Improve public-transit. Critically evaluate our bus and train public-transit services and develop a plan to make them more effective and accessible.