UPDATE, 9/19/08: A candidate forum on health care for the three 18th District congressional candidates has been announced for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22 at the Peoria Public Library, Basement Auditorium, 107 N.E. Monroe St. Peoria.
PEORIA -- Two candidate forums that are free and open to the public, where the audience can ask questions, have been scheduled for the near future.
These forums are different from the many candidate events where the audience is limited to members of a group and their guests, or where questions are not taken from the audience. They offer an opportunity for anyone to attend and ask questions.
The first takes place at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Radisson Hotel (formerly Jumers) 117 N. Western, Peoria. This forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria, is for state and local candidates. These include:
For the 92nd House of Representatives, Democrat Jehan Gordon and Republican Joan Krupa.
For Peoria County Coroner, Republican incumbent Johanna Ingersoll and Democratic challenger Steve Schmid.
For Peoria County Board:
District 6, Democratic incumbent Allan Mayer and Republican challenger and former board member Jeff Lickiss.
District 16, Democratic incumbent Eldon Polhemus and Republican challenger Brad Harding.
District 18, Democratic incumbent Pat Hidden and Republican challenger Lyn Smith.
All of those invited are expected to attend. An optional $10 breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m.
The second forum is for federal candidates, and sponsored by the Peoria American Civil Liberties Union.
It takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25 at the historic GAR Hall, 416 Hamilton Boulevard, Peoria.
Its theme is the Constitution and Civil Liberties.
Candidates will be asked to comment on issues including the growing power of the presidency, religious liberty, torture, warrantless wiretapping and the USA Patriot Act.
Candidates who accepted an invitation to participate include:
For the United States Senate: Republican Steve Sauerberg will attend. (Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, was invited.)
For the United States House of Representatives from Illinois’ 18th District: Democratic candidate Colleen Callahan and Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer will attend. (Republican Aaron Schock was invited.)
ACLU of Illinois communications and public policy director Edwin C. Yohnka will moderate the forum. The program will begin with questions from a panel of local journalists, including Pam Adams of the Peoria Journal Star, Tanya Koonce of WCBU-FM and Dwayne Bartels of the Peoria Times Observer. Written questions will be accepted from the audience.
Durbin has said he cannot attend because Congress is in session. Schock has so far declined to attend, but the organizers hope he will change his mind and discuss publicly these important issues.
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