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Did You Know?

While the Chicago region’s population grew by 18 percent since 1980, the traffic increased by 66 percent in the same period.

Do your local candidates support active transportation?

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With suburban municipal elections around the region less than a month away on April 4, it's a good time to ask: Where do my candidates stand on biking, walking and transportation? 

Active Trans is contacting candidates for mayor and village president from 200+ municipalities and requesting that they complete our Suburban Municipal Candidate Questionnaire to educate voters on their views related to active transportation issues.

We are using publicly available contact information to reach the campaigns of candidates that will appear on the ballot. The questionnaire is based on our policy priorities for the suburbs, which include:

  • Developing and implementing active transportation plans and complete streets policies that make biking and walking safer and more comfortable for all.
  • Dedicating routine funding toward biking and walking priorities.
  • Commitment to making safety improvements a priority at the most dangerous intersections and crossings.
  • Support for regional efforts to identify new revenue sources to fund maintenance and expansion of public transit.

We are collecting questionnaires through March 17 and plan to publish the results soon after. (As a non-partisan 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, Active Trans does not endorse candidates. The questionnaires are an educational resource to inform voters about candidate’s priorities for improving biking, walking and public transit.)

We encourage you to add locally specific questions to the questionnaire and send it to candidates in your community.

Candidate forums and similar public meetings are also good arenas to raise the need for giving priority to active transportation. Candidates need to know that voters value biking, walking and transit – and that residents have the power to make their priorities an election issue.

You can register to vote online before March 19 and early voting starts on March 20. More information about your local suburban election can be found on your county board of election website: suburban Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will.