LGBT Coalition Hosting Chicago Mayor's Race Debate, With All Six Candidates

From Windy City Times

A broad coalition of Chicago-area LGBTQ organizations are hosting a Chicago Mayoral Candidates Forum on LGBT issues. The Forum will be held on February 9, 2011 at Adler School of Professional Psychology. The coalition is offering the candidates the opportunity to speak directly to the LGBTQ community and to educate voters as to their vision of the office of the Mayor of Chicago with a focus on issues directly impacting LGBTQ people. Moderating the event will be Tracy Baim, publisher and executive editor at Windy City Media Group.

All the major candidates, including Gery Chico, Rahm Emanuel, Carol Moseley-Braun, Miguel del Valle, William Walls, and Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins, have accepted the coalition's invitation to participate in the Forum.

The coalition is coordinated by leaders from the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Affinity Community Services, Amigas Latinas, the Association for Latino Men for Action, Equality Illinois and LGBT Change. The organizers' goal for this forum is to educate the community on the candidates' positions and commitments to LGBT inclusion in City Policy. This forum is the culmination of a three-month long process which included community forums held across the city of Chicago that aimed to inform and educate the community and candidates on LGBTQ concerns via issue questionnaires. Completed questionnaires, as well as additional information on the process, are available at www.eqil.org/NextMayor.html.

This is the first time that such a broad coalition of LGBT organizations has come together to participate in the electoral process.

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