League of Women Voters announces candidate forums
The League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area, lwvpalatinearea.org, announces the following upcoming virtual, nonpartisan Candidate Forums to help inform and educate voters prior to the Nov. 3 General Election:
• Saturday, Sept. 19: 1-2 p.m., Illinois House of Representatives 56th District.
Candidates: Scott Kegarise and Michelle Mussman.
Register for virtual forum at: schaumburg.libnet.info/event/4525834.
Co-sponsored by the Schaumburg Library and the League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters Arlington Heights, League of Women Voters of the Elgin Area and League of Women Voters Roselle/Bloomingdale, this forum will be moderated by Katherine Sawyer, chief advancement officer at Oakton Community College.
• Monday, Sept. 21: 7 p.m., Illinois 6th Congressional District.
Candidates: Sean Casten and Jeanne Ives.
Register for virtual forum: at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__CDSHsSASJCQuYYKy6guZA.
Hosted by the League of Women Voters of Central Kane, Downers Grove, Elgin, Glen Ellyn, Lake County ILO, McHenry, Naperville, Palatine Area, Roselle/Bloomingdale, and Wheaton chapters, this forum will be moderated by Jan Dorner, vice president, Voter Service, League of Women Voters Elmhurst.
• Saturday, Sept. 26: 11 a.m. to noon, Illinois House of Representatives 52nd District.
Candidates: Martin McLaughlin, Alia Sarfraz and Marci Suelzer.
Register for virtual forum at: https://balibrary.librarycalendar.com/events/illinois-52nd-candidate-forum.
In collaboration with the League of Women Voters Palatine Area and the League of Women Voters McHenry County, and co-sponsored by the Barrington Area Library, hear from candidates for the open seat in the Illinois House of Representatives 52nd District.
"Candidate forums are an ideal way to see and hear your local representatives and their opponents explain their views, defend their voting record and answer questions posed by our fellow citizens," says Vicki Martin, co-president of the League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area.
"Although the elections for federal offices are important, many of the issues that affect our communities the most are decided by our State Legislature. Issues like the Fair Tax and term limits will be on the ballot in November."
All candidate forums are run by trained, nonpartisan moderators. Equal time is given to all candidates to answer each question. The candidates will have two minutes to present an opening statement, in turn, alphabetically.
Questions will be vetted in advance by the League for appropriateness and relevance from those solicited from League members, as well as community members and nonpartisan groups.
Participants who register by Sept. 18 may submit a question for the candidates. All questions are subject to review and editing by an League of Women Voters team.
The moderator will ask questions in rotation so that each candidate will have the opportunity to be the first to answer. Candidates will have an equal and predetermined amount of time to answer each question.
After the questions are completed, each candidate will have two minutes to provide a closing statement, in turn, alphabetically. No surrogates are permitted to participate. An uncontested forum, that is, one with only one candidate, is not permitted.
Registered participants will receive an email with a link to join the virtual program. Programs can be accessed from a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. First-time participants may need to download and run the free software upon joining a program. For this reason, we recommend joining a few minutes early.
The League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
For more information, visit lwvpalatinearea.org.