The fight for Ford City is a fight over who gets to decide the future of Chicago’s Southwest Side.

When City Hall advanced a massive industrial redevelopment despite concerns about truck traffic, pollution, noise and the loss of vital commercial land, our community refused to remain silent.

We organized. We gathered signatures. We demonstrated at City Hall. We spoke before public officials and took our concerns to CBS, WGN, WTTW and other Chicago news outlets.

But we did more than oppose a warehouse complex, we presented the Ford City Plaza Community Concept: a community-driven alternative centered on green space, tourism, public transit, local businesses, entertainment and opportunities for Southwest Side families.

This video documents our fight and the kind of leadership I will bring to the 18th Ward: visible, prepared and accountable to the people.

Our neighborhoods should never be told to accept whatever development is handed to us. We deserve a real voice in the decisions that shape our environment, economy and future.