We accept commentary from political candidates in Oak Park and River Forest as well as organizers of ballot measures in those communities.
Here is what we accept:
Policy statements that explain a candidate’s stance on local issues. This includes concrete solutions to problems and honest assessments of challenges the community faces when a candidate takes office. Claims must be based on evidence. Sources must be cited.
Here is what we don’t accept:
Fundraising appeals.
Attacks on other candidates. Fair contrasts in approach or ideology are OK; name-calling and spurious claims are not.
Half-truths, misinformation or lies. In that vein, anything published must be based in fact and be verifiable.
Press releases.
Here are our criteria:
Due to limited print space and to create balance among candidates (or ballot measure organizers) one commentary piece may be submitted ahead of the April 1 election.
No commentary pieces will be published in print or online one week ahead of the election. The election cutoff publication date is March 19.
Each piece must be no longer than 500 words. If they are longer, an editor will return the commentary for trimming.
Writers must include links to authoritative, independent sources for any claims made.
The editor reserves the right to edit for fairness, clarity, grammar, style and length.
We cannot guarantee a specific publication date because of space limitations and the demands of editing each commentary. If your submission meets all of the requirements, your piece will be published online and in print in a timely manner.
Please note that space in print publications is limited, so we cannot publish all candidates’ submissions on the same day. Therefore, do not wait for the final deadline — plan ahead. We will not publish candidates’ commentary after the deadline if too many were submitted during that final week for print.
The deadline for submission is: Sunday noon in order to be included in that week’s paper.
Please send your submissions to: Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@wjinc.com
Letters of support for candidates:
Supporters of candidates are likewise limited to one letter in favor of their candidate, no longer than 300 words. Group signatures are allowed. The shorter letters will receive higher priority as the election gets closer and space becomes more of an issue. Candidate support letters must also comply with the no-trashing-of-the-opponent rule. Claims of fact must also be accompanied by cited sources. Letters of support will be published through the last Wednesday of March. If we do not have space to publish all of the letters in print, the remainder will be posted online at oakpark.com.