During the last presidential election, Latinos for Trump cofounder Marco Gutierrez warned that if the U.S. doesn’t do more to stop undocumented immigrants from entering the country, “you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner.” Chicago is already approaching that utopian scenario. Our city has hundreds, if not thousands, of Mexican restaurants where taqueros and taqueras expertly griddle chunks of marinated steak and carve ruby-colored al pastor from trompo rotisseries, then deposit the meats in warm corn tortillas and top them with chopped onions and cilantro. Dress their creations with fiery red, green, or black salsa and a squeeze of lime and take a bite, and you’re in carnivore heaven.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s public transportation score of 8.1 was the highest of any U.S. city. That’s certainly debatable, since New York’s MTA is far more extensive than the CTA, and D.C.’s Metro arguably has nicer stations and railcars. On the other hand, those systems have had major meltdowns in recent years, while the CTA is relatively well maintained. Mayor Rahm Emanuel gloated about that fact in a New York Times op-ed in July 2017 with the Mussolini-esque title “In Chicago, the Trains Actually Run on Time.”

Streetsblog reporter Lynda Lopez, a first-generation Mexican-American, said we can’t take Chicago’s awesome and affordable transit and taco culture for granted. She noted that there’s a danger of housing costs and retail rents in many gentrifying neighborhoods becoming too expensive for recent immigrants and mom-and-pop restaurants, especially in areas near el stations. “If we value Chicago’s cultural diversity and cuisine, we need to prioritize equitable access to transit and affordable housing to make sure diverse communities can remain in the city.”

Zaragoza added that good CTA access has been a factor in his restaurant’s success. “We’re fortunate that the Pulaski Orange Line stop is down the street and the Pulaski bus runs right by our front door. That certainly doesn’t hurt us.”

Do you disagree with my taqueria selections? Feel free to “taco” ’bout it in the comments section. (Sorry.) And remember, you can’t spell “taco” without “CTA.”   v