As the election draws nearer, some of the candidates who are vying to be Chicago's next mayor attended a forum addressing violence towards women, girls and LGBTQ people at the Chicago-Kent College of Law Feb. 15. The Chicago Foundation for Women, Center on Halsted, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network and Rape Victim Advocates sponsored the nonpartisan forum, and Alison Cuddy of WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight moderated it.
The candidates who participated were Carol Moseley Braun, William "Dock" Walls, III, Patricia Van Pelt Watkins and Miguel del Valle (who arrived 30 minutes late due to a prior commitment). Neither Rahm Emanuel nor Gery Chico attended, although Chico's wife, Sunny, represented the campaign in a non-speaking capacity. Emanuel and Chico's campaigns told the organizers that they had prior commitments and were unable to attend. Before the candidates answered questions there were opening remarks by Harold J. Krent, dean and professor of law at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, as well as from Sharmili Majmudar, executive director of Rape Victims Advocates.
Then each candidateexcept del Valle, who was absent during this portion of the eveningprovided 60-second opening remarks. They were asked how they would address violence against women, girls and LGBTQ people in your first 90 days in office. Braun talked about efficiency, concrete goals and collaboration. Walls emphasized Chicago's relationship with the state and made note that the mandate to process all rape kits is ineffective since it is unfunded. Watkins said engaging residents and communities using evidence-based approaches is a key way to address violence, and used the safety-oriented Cease Fire program as an example.
When they finished their opening statements Cuddy began the Q&A part of the evening. The questions included police response to domestic violence; plans to handle harassment of LGBTQ and people of color by police; the investigation of police who do harm; and prostitution and trafficking. Braun mentioned the need to break out of our "silos," which she brought up repeatedly throughout the evening, when she answered the question about harassment of LGBTQ and people of color. Watkins talked about forming task forces to combat prostitution and trafficking of vulnerable people.
When Cuddy asked about money and fundingspecifically, ways they would balance the budget without hurting funding for programs that support women, children and the LGBTQ communitydel Valle veered off topic and mentioned the poll done by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association that had Emanuel with a 58-percent lead, which he claimed was false; this statement elicited chuckles from the capacity crowd. Walls said he would reroute funding from the beautification program that has put planters in the middle of the road to help fund programs that help women, children and the LGBTQ community.
Cuddy expanded on the funding issue by asking about focusing on money sources for rape-crisis units. While Walls was answering this question he mentioned "unusual lifestyles," which elicited a gasp from the audience. Cuddy asked him to explain what he meant; he said he was referring to those people who work as panhandlers or car window cleaners at stop lightsa response that failed to satsify the crowd.
Education was the next topic, with Cuddy asking about the board of education policies on the prevention of sexual assault among students along with the issue of bullying. Braun brought up the need to restore more nurses in the schools to lower the ratio of nurses to students. All of the candidates expressed their desire for sex-education classes so students will have the knowledge they need to prevent sexual assaults.
When they addressed the issue of bullying Walls expanded it to include bullying that occurs when students have to cross gang lines to go to school and the need for zero tolerance. Cuddy asked what he meant; he said that all adults have to be accountable when a child comes to them regarding bullying. Watkins said we should celebrate schools when they do the right thing regarding bullying. Braun mentioned the importance of community engagement surrounding this issue. Del Valle related his own experiences with bullying, saying that he had to race out the back door of his school to escape the bullies. He also said that having principals who understand the importance of this issue and who will support anti-bullying policies contributes to a school environment where people get along.
In their closing statements Walls used the term "lifestyles" again but also stressed the need for everyone to feel safe and secure while del Valle said in a firm way that he was sick of people using the term "tolerate" and implored everyone to accept each other and our differences. He also said that neighborhoods should stop being isolated from each other so the entire city can work together to solve our problems. Watkins stressed transparent processes so everyone can see what the mayor's office is doing. Braun thanked the sponsors and talked about creating the future by creating an environment where these problems can be solved.
To watch this forum or many of the other mayoral forums check out the CAN-TV website at www.cantv.org/forum.htm. Election day is February 22nd and to find your polling place and a sample ballot go to www.chicagoelections.com .