Yumi Ross: Highland Park City Council Candidate Profile

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Ahead of the April 4 municipal elections, Highland Park Patch provided questionnaires to all City Council candidates.

There are five candidates running for three available seats on the Highland Park City Council. Incumbents Tony Blumberg and Adam Stolberg are seeking reelection, while three newcomers — Jeff Hoobler, Kelly Nichols and Yumi Ross — are in the running for a first term as a councilmember.

Patch is publishing all responses submitted by candidates verbatim.

Yumi Ross

Age (as of Election Day)
60

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
No

Education
Bachelor of Arts, Bryn Mawr College
Masters in Architecture, Harvard University's Graduate School of Design

Architect since 1993

Campaign Website
www.YumiForCouncil.com

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office
I served two four-year terms (eight years) on District 112's School Board

The most pressing issues facing our (board, district, etc.) are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.
Some of the most pressing issues facing Highland Park are infrastructure and building projects, the need to revitalize retail and our business districts, public safety, and better overall urban design. It is vitally important to weave all of these important areas together for the sake of revitalization of Highland Park.

I will help create better processes for construction projects in our city whether infrastructure, bridges, or buildings. Projects can be better designed and less expensive overall if neighborhood feedback is solicited as soon as the city starts considering projects. The city could conduct surveys from impacted neighborhoods as soon as a project is suggested.

The city is looking at different ways to help businesses, I will advocate for re-examining all aspects of opening a new business in Highland Park while strongly supporting existing ones. We need greater diversity of stores to attract more shoppers from near and far, we could decide what kind of retail might complement existing businesses and create a focused, comprehensive plan to recruit them.

Highland Park residents care about safety and frankly so do I! Like many of us, I marched in the 2022 Fourth of July parade with a local nonprofit and have personal experiences from that day that inform my thinking. I believe we need an alert system for Highland Park residents that shares quickly updated information in real-time with directions from police and fire departments regarding what to do, where to find shelter, and where the best resources can be found. I know the city is working on safeguarding the community including with resiliency personnel.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
I am unique as a city council candidate in being a Harvard-trained architect. I served on the Architecture and Design board of The Art Institute Chicago and currently serve on the Board of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, we showcase top local and international design. I will bring a design-eye to city projects which is important because the city invests millions of dollars in infrastructure and facilities and approves large developments. I also bring an unusually broad, deep, and very long service record throughout Highland Park: I am Board President of The Art Center Highland Park and I serve on the Board of Family Service of Lake County. I served eight years on elected D112 School Board, I was Co-President of the D113 Education Foundation, and still serve on both D112's and D113's Education Foundations. While on school board, I was D112 liaison to the City of Highland Park's Green Alliance and Human Relations Commission (now an advisory group). I have worked with all sister governments and am able to weave everything together to help create positive change for Highland Park.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform
I am a longtime advocate for the environment and I will continue to advocate for environmentally-sustainable goals for Highland Park. As a community on Lake Michigan, we must begin making preparations today for rising lake levels. We must innovate our building code to push for further energy efficiencies to reduce our electric and gas use. I advocated for sustainable practices in D112, the district implemented energy conservation and environmental sustainability initiatives that saved the district more than $1 million. Our architecture firm won a green building competition in Chicago more than 20 years ago using innovative, sustainable building principles.

I am a passionate supporter of the arts, we can leverage our world-class artistic institutions to help grow our city budget. We must also prioritize investments in the arts in Highland Park. We are home to The Art Center and Ravinia Festival. Cultural events draw visitors not just from the Chicagoland area, but from all over the country for events and shows. Those patrons help support businesses like restaurants, boutiques, and other local businesses, driving additional revenue for Highland Park.

I believe in community. Our city saw the national spotlight after a horrific Fourth of July shooting. This tragedy brought our city together and spurred so many within our community into action. Residents struggling and grieving turned pain into activism. I want to help harness the power of our community of advocates and activists to become more vocal in helping push for common sense gun laws here in Illinois.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
Public office is not like the private sector, while there is value to the idea of modeling some aspects of government on private business, there are fundamental differences due to strict laws and regulations that govern work and because one serves the public good, not private interests. I served on D112's Board of Education for eight years, some of them extraordinarily challenging. I valued everyone I worked with, stayed focused on keeping the district strong for our students and families whose health and wellbeing were of paramount importance to me, to all of us. I have always been committed to civility and respect towards everyone, constituents, staff, and colleagues. On school board, even if colleagues or constituents and I disagreed on an issue, I always kept communication channels open and my mind open to the possibilities, I sought the best, latest, information available. Officials elected by voters serve the public. I will bring that mindset to City Council.

Why should voters trust you?
I am a team player but I stand on principle, I am only interested in doing the right thing. I have to be able to sleep at night.

I hope that my many years of public service in elected office and two school boards (D112 and Board of Education liaison to NSSED), my work on both D112 and D113 Education Foundations, and my service on the Board of Family Service of Lake County speaks to why voters should place their trust in me. For many years, I have contributed to Highland Park Community Foundation, to the Moraine Township Food Pantry, to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, to so many organizations making a difference. As a leader at a local non-profit said, I have "a strong moral compass". Helping community is a way of life for me, I am driven by a passion to help others.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office as a success?
If I am able to help achieve renewed vibrancy in Highland Park where people flock to our city to live, work, dine, shop, where tax payers money is used in a fiscally prudent way on projects that contribute to excellent urban design including of green spaces, if all sectors and governmental bodies are working harmoniously and collaboratively to achieve revitalization, if we have implemented the best possible measures to keep us all safe, and residents are all well-informed about environmentally sustainable practices, then I would consider my term in office a success.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?
The city has had a balanced budget for many years and Aaa bond rating, I support this. Many millions of dollars are spent every year on infrastructure working with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the city is spending approximately $25 million on infrastructure and facilities. I will advocate for more transparency at the point when projects are first suggested, early engagement and communication with neighborhoods impacted by projects before a well-developed plan is presented. This will avoid situations where neighbors object and feel their issues weren't considered. Perhaps, there is an online system to provide comments that become part of the record that the city aggressively publicizes to get more participation. I am confident that we will get better designed projects for less money, with more neighborhood support, as a result.

What is your view of the city's/village's approach to commercial and residential development?
The city, all cities, must engage in commercial and residential development to remain financially sustainable and vibrant. We need more 'feet on the ground' to keep the shops and restaurants that we love and want in our community open and running and to attract exciting new retail. The apartment buildings and condo developments in Highland Park are making more apartments available. I would like to see the city work on getting developers to ensure better proportion, better scale of projects in relationship to the context of the areas that surround each site. Good design is vitally important for a building to continue to be viewed as an important contribution to the city many years after construction.

When it comes to development, what are some key areas for improvement or additions you feel are most wanted by residents? What will need to be done to make this happen?
The city would benefit from investment in better and more landscaping, and green spaces that are maintained regularly and updated lighting. The center of town is Port Clinton, there could be an outdoor cafe there. Residents, visitors, retail and businesses, alike notice and appreciate beautiful downtown areas. The entry to Highland Park could be better landscaped to make a beautiful and inviting gateway to the city along Central Avenue. There should be an overall strategic and urban design plan that all new development takes part in incrementally to beautify and improve the city. Parking is a cost for businesses, the city could look for a less expensive way to provide parking for business employees where it is economically feasible for more companies to locate here.

What are your thoughts on the crime rate in your community, and what more can be done to combat crime — especially violent crime — in town?
A mass shooting took place last summer so this is an issue that residents care a lot about. Also, there are increasing thefts. The city adopted a program used by other municipalities that shares information on stolen vehicles, it sounds like that will be a big help to police in combatting crime. Again, I think that an alert system that provides useful information to residents in real time would be incredibly helpful. I would like to work on using technology to inform residents as much as possible.

Do you support the Illinois assault weapons ban, and do you support the city's local assault weapons ban?
Yes, I strongly support both!

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality? If not, what specifically should be done to do so?
As I have said in the past, our Mayor has spoken to this issue and I am confident both she and City Hall care about racial equality. But there is always room for improvement anywhere. As an Asian-American woman who has experienced racism personally, as have my relatives and friends, I care a lot about this issue and am glad that candidates are being asked about it. Although we live in a liberal community, racism still exists here, no community is free of it. I have said this many times: to address racism, more people of color, Black, Brown, and Asian, need to have actual seats at decision-making tables throughout communities and their governmental entities. We need to have representation in leadership roles, to have a voice on non-profit and for-profit boards, on government boards and councils. We cannot have real and lasting change otherwise. As I said in 2021, not only can I offer the perspective of my own life experience but my election would send a powerful message that there is more diverse representation on Council itself. And, children in our community will be able to look at Council and SEE diverse representatives leading our city which could leave a lasting impression on them regarding what leaders can look like.

Do you support the SAFE-T Act? Why or why not?

Yes, I support it. The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act is a state of Illinois statute enacted in 2021 that makes a number of reforms to the criminal justice system, affecting policing, pretrial detention and bail, sentencing, and corrections.

It eliminated cash bail--which many low-income people could not afford so led to long pre-trial detainments for minor offenses--offers better oversight of police work, holds officers accountable for abuse of office, and brings mental health experts to work with police among many other reforms. There were repercussions from the murder of George Floyd. No doubt, the hardworking police who are the majority do their jobs conscientiously and well so support these important reforms.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?
No, there is not.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

A motto I live by is “Anything worth doing is worth doing well”. I work extremely hard on anything I sign up to do.

My architect husband, referring to sustainable design, once said that positive change comes from many actions that add up to make a big difference, I agree and apply that way of thinking globally. I work hard on every piece of every project to make it a success and do the best job I can. And, for me this includes making people feel heard, even if we disagree. I believe in and practice collaborative problem-solving.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
What I said in 2021 still holds true: I care deeply about service and actively engaging to help our community. My passion for contributing to improving peoples lives is what drives ALL of my work, it is a core value of mine and it is why I run for office.