Frigid temps Saturday didn’t keep candidates and incumbents from showing up and promoting their campaign platforms at the West Side NAACP’s candidate forum, co-sponsored by Wednesday Journal.
Candidates running for elected office in Oak Park, Austin, Forest Park and Riverside were in attendance at the West Side’s Columbus Park Refectory.
The four-hour forum included candidates, and in some cases representatives of candidates, running in the state legislative, state treasurer, Cook County Board, U.S congressional and Cook County judicial races.
The overall forum was broken up in sections to cover each candidate’s race. More than two-dozen candidates and 50 audience participants braved the sub-zero temperatures to attend. Candidates took written questions from the audience following a two-minute opening statement.
The candidates weren’t allowed to directly address one another, and most stuck to the script. But the tightly enforced time constraints of one-minute responses and roughly 15 minutes allotted time for each race didn’t stop some”mostly the challengers”from taking a few swipes at their opponents.
The testiest moment in the otherwise civil exchanges came between State Sen. Don Harmon (39th) and Republican opponent James Rowe, who chided the Democratic incumbent for legislation on registering sex-offenders in Illinois.
Responding to an audience member’s question about crime in Oak Park and Austin, Rowe, an Austin native, responded:
“Senator, you tried to propose a bill that would exempt certain sex offenders from the sex offender registry. I worked around the clock as prosecutor to put these monsters away. We fought to make sure they went to jail for a long time and stayed on the sex offender registry for the rest of their life.”
All of the candidates at the forum were given an opportunity to respond to written questions. But before answering this particular one, an upset Harmon used up most of his one minute in answering the charge.
“First of all, I have to correct my Republican opponent who keeps harping on this bill,” said Harmon, referring to Senate Bill 1328, currently in committee in the general assembly, which would alert communities to known registered sex offenders living in the neighborhoods.
“I have the strongest record in the general assembly on sex offender legislation,” said Harmon. “The bill he’s referring to would correct a loophole the [Illinois] Supreme Court asked us to correct that would treat an 8-year-old more harshly than a 20-year-old accused of the same crime. If you’d like to do it differently, you’re welcome to do it. But it’s attitudes like that that prevent us from rationally thinking about the way we do this.”
Fellow 39th District state senate candidate Michael Nardello steered clear of the crime squabble, but used his time to take a jab at Harmon on the issue of gentrification and business development.
“Gentrification takes place when you have a neighborhood that is falling,” said the Chicago Democrat. “You have people on the zoning committee that rezone areas so that they benefit those businesses that come in and take the coffee shops, the restaurants and bookstores, and then you have areas that are blighted.”
Questions from audience members addressed issues such as crime, education, jobs and affordable housing.
State Rep. Karen Yarbrough and opponent Chris Welch, battling for the 7th legislative district covering Austin and Oak Park, tackled each in their appearance.
On a question of prisoner reentry and opportunities for jobs, the two shared similar responses.
“We want to see how state government can do more,” said Yarbrough, touting Gov. Blagojevich’s Community Safety and Reentry Working Group, a commission of local and state leaders, including Yarbrough, launched last December to look at reentry and recidivism rates and prevention.
“We know that a number of our folk go in,” she said. “They have substance abuse problems when they go in. They don’t have the skills to get a job when they come out, and they don’t have a place to live. Those are just some of the issues we have to address when people come out of corrections.”
As Chicago’s largest community, Austin has the highest number of former inmates returning to Cook County. Austin also has the largest number of ex-offenders in the state.
An ex-offender referendum placed on the March 21 ballot for the 24th, 37th, 29th and 37th West Side wards would restrict certain questions asked on individuals with criminal records.
Democrat Chris Welch said he was unaware of the referendum’s specifics, but supports former inmates finding employment.
“We need a champion in Springfield who will make sure that the folk who’ve made a mistake”and that’s exactly what it was”have the opportunity to go back to work.”
Ford and Giles
8th state rep legislative candidates LaShawn Ford and Calvin Giles appeared together for the first time this campaign season.
Giles referred to talk about education, an issue he said he’s the most passionate about.
Concerning Chicago’s Renaissance 2010 school reorganization plan, Giles criticized the city’s effort to close under-performing schools.
“I think closing schools is not the answer,” said Giles. “I don’t believe closing schools will result in higher test scores for our neediest of children.”
Giles refrained from using his time to respond to a number of attacks leveled by Ford.
“You’re a state representative but you’re never here,” said Ford. “I am committed to the community and I will be present. You cannot represent the community and not be here.”
CONTACT tdean@wjinc.com