On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, the Leagues of Women Voters of the Aurora Area, Central Kane County, and Elgin Area will co-host a hybrid forum for the 2024 General Primary candidates in contested races for Kane County Recorder, Kane County Board Districts 12 and 14, and for Illinois State Rep District 49. The forum will be held at 6:30pm in person at Batavia City Hall, 100 N. Island Avenue, Batavia. It will also be live streamed and available for later viewing on the BATV YouTube Channel. Following the event, a recording of the forum will be posted to the websites of the IL Voter Guide (https://illinoisvoterguide.org/) as well as the websites of the League organizations sponsoring the forum (the League of Women Voters of the Aurora Area https://my.lwv.org/illinois/aurora-area, the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County https://my.lwv.org/illinois/central-kane-county, and the League of Women Voters of the Elgin Area https://lwvelginarea.org/).
The forum will be divided into four segments, each lasting approximately 30 minutes. The Democratic Kane County Recorder candidates will be first, followed by County Board 12 & 14, and concluding with the Republican Illinois House District 49 candidates.
During the appropriate segment, each candidate is granted one minute for an opening statement. Each candidate will then have an opportunity to provide one-minute answers to questions submitted in advance or asked by the viewing audience. Audience questions will be pre-screened by a team of League members for appropriateness prior to asking. At the end of each segment, the candidates will have up to one minute each for a closing statement.
According to Patti Lackman, Voter Service Chair of the LWV of Central Kane County, “The League of Women Voters has a long history of conducting candidate forums and is widely considered to be one of the most capable non-partisan organizations in this regard. We are excited to provide this opportunity to the voters of Kane County and District 49 to hear from these candidates in a live forum. The League of Women Voters is completely non-partisan and never sponsors or endorses candidates. We hope that all the invited candidates will be present for this important event.”
Invitations to participate in the forum were extended to the following candidates running in contested races: Aris Garcia and Hannah Billingsley are vying for the Republican nomination for Illinois House District 49 (the Democrat in District 49 – Maura Hirschauer is running unopposed). Marisela Villegas and Brenda Rodgers are competing for the Democratic nomination for the office of Kane County Recorder; Republicans Bill Roth and Michelle Geen are competing for County Board District 12, and Republicans Jonathan Gripe and Mark Davoust are competing for County Board District 14.
Here are some important dates to know for the upcoming March 19, 2024 General Primary Election:
- February 8 – March 18, 2024: Early voting at Kane County Elections office and Aurora satellite.
- March 4 – March 18, 2024: Early voting at all Kane County early voting polling locations.
- February 20, 2024: Last day to register to vote.
- February 21 – March 18, 2024: Grace period registration and voting at Kane County Elections office and Aurora Satellite.
- March 19, 2024: Election Day! Polls open from 6 am to 7 pm.
Nonpartisan information about voting in Illinois can be found at https://illinoisvoterguide.org/. Anyone wishing to find out more about this candidate forum or any other event hosted by the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County may obtain more information by emailing info@lwvckc.org.
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The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.