Justin Osborne

On the Record

What experiences do you have that make you a good candidate for office?

I am a working man. Though I am also young, I have had the opportunity to be employed in a variety of environments that have exposed me to an even greater variety of people, beliefs, and cultures. From working on a ship, to moving heavy construction machinery, from deicing airplanes at O’Hare, to operating precision machining equipment, every job has challenged me with new procedures, new expectations, and new responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities have been very great, and a failure to satisfy the job could’ve brought harm or death to many people. Because of my resolve to bring full satisfaction to any job, I have been respected and appreciated in the workplace. Election to the aldermanship would mean new challenges, perhaps the biggest I could face, but like everything else before, I’ll face it with the same resolve and determination to give it my best.

What are your top three priorities if elected?

If I am elected, my priorities are (1) representing the majority sentiment of the residents of the First Ward and doing so with the best of my abilities, (2) keeping in touch with that sentiment by establishing an efficient means of communication with the First Ward residents, and (3) encouraging the awareness and participation of First Ward residents in the matters of their city by keeping them as informed as I am of those matters. Some readers may have noticed that my priorities are not points of “doing” but points of “being” and of “conduct”. These two are the basis and framework, respectively, from which and within which all matters of doing will spring. What a candidate will be and how he will carry out his civic duty, especially in a government that is representative of its people, should be the first concern of any electorate.

Would you support freezing your taxing district’s levy until housing prices rebound? Why or why not?

Our City Council has kept the taxing district levies frozen since 2009 and has made clear its intention to keep the freeze for another year. A city does this to preserve its revenue in face of a declining economy. Though these are preexisting tax rates, for those whose property value is declining, the obligation is more than what they would otherwise be called upon to pay; there is a growing gap between what they should be taxed according to their property value and what they are actually being taxed. I do not believe it is fair to require that some residents pay disproportionately while others pay proportionately, but I would ultimately consult my fellow residents in the First Ward on the matter. I would do so after having first made all budgetary factors and implications known to them and after expressing my own evaluation whether a freeze is necessary to maintaining the city’s budget or not. This is the way in which I intend to manage the office.

What one decision by the city council do you most disagree with and why?

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What was the biggest accomplishment of the city council in the past year?

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Why should voters elect you to office?

Voters should elect me because I will use the office for the people, not for myself. I am not here to build a career. I am here to formulate the kind of transparent and accessible local government that I would like to live under in the years to come, and to initiate the movements I, as well as many others, have been waiting to see in our city for a long time. I will serve the term’s four years and do what I can to realize these goals within that period.