The Knox College Democrats student group is encouraging residents of western Illinois to use an online portal to submit questions which will be considered for a gubernatorial candidates’ forum on Tuesday night at Knox College in Galesburg.
Four Democrats will be represented at the forum: downstate school superintendent Bob Daiber, Chicago community organizer Tio Hardiman, and the running mates of J.B. Pritzker and State Sen. Daniel Biss: State Rep. Juliana Stratton and State Rep. Litesa Wallace, respectively.
“Campaigns in Illinois tend to focus on Chicagoland, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get western Illinoisans' voices heard,” said Sam Klingher, president of Knox College Democrats.
To increase the chance that your question will be asked at the forum, Klingher recommends asking only questions that could be answered by all four campaign representatives scheduled to participate.
Klingher also recommends against asking questions on issues that are not relevant to the Illinois Governor’s race, even if they are political in nature.
One example of this that Klingher offers: “What should we do about nuclear weapons in North Korea?” He says this question would not be asked because of its irrelevance to Springfield politics, even though it touches upon a timely issue.
On the other hand, the question "Do you support sanctuary cities in Illinois?" is okay, according to Klingher, because it touches upon state-level politics.
The candidates forum is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Kresge Recital Hall inside the Ford Center for Fine Arts, located at 500 South Prairie Street, Galesburg, Illinois.
The Democratic and Republican primary elections for Illinois Governor will each be held March 20. The general election will be held Nov. 6.