Public forum scheduled for 10th Congressional candidates

The two candidates for the 10th Congressional District seat will face off in a pair of public forums next week.

Republican Robert Dold and Democrat Dan Seals will debate the political issues of the day in Arlington Heights and Glenview.

The first debate is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Forest View Alternative School, 2121 S. Goebbert Road. It is being hosted by the AARP, a national senior-citizen membership organization.

The second forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Glenbrook South High School, 4000 W. Lake Ave., Glenview. It has been organized by the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan civic group.

Both events are open to the public.

The 10th District includes parts of Cook and Lake counties. It stretches from Lake Michigan into the North and Northwest suburbs.

The seat is now held by Highland Park Republican Mark Kirk, who is leaving the House to run for Senate.

The resulting open seat has some political observers calling the race one of the most closely watched in the nation.

Dold, of Kenilworth, is a business owner making his first bid for public office.

Seals, of Wilmette, is a business consultant and university lecturer who ran for the post and lost in 2006 and 2008.

Barbs have been fired by both candidates in the race so far.

Seals has criticized Dold's stance on abortion and other social issues, whereas Dold has questioned Seals' changing stance on whether soon-to-expire tax cuts should be extended, as well as whether the cap on Social Security taxes should be raised.