Cook County Board Presidential Candidate Forum Presented by Union League of Chicago’s Public Affairs Committee and the Chicago Area Public Affairs Group

This past Friday, the Union League Club of Chicago’s Public Affairs Committee presented the Cook County Board Presidential Candidate Forum. The forum was attended by candidates from all parties and was made possible by the Club’s Chicago Area Public Affairs Group and its External Relations subcommittee chair Chicago attorney Robert Kreisman.

The candidates included Cook County Board President Todd Stroger; Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown; Terry O’Brien, the President of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District; Chicago Alderman Toni Preckwinkle; former Illinois State Senator Roger Keats; and Green Party candidate Tom Tresser. In total the candidates included four Democrats, one Republican and one Green Party representative.

The forum was moderated by Andy Shaw, the executive director of Better Government Association and an award-winning Chicago journalist. As someone who spent 35 years covering politics, business, education and day-to-day news at a variety of media centers, Mr. Shaw was more than qualified for the job.

On hand was a variety of local, state and national elected officials as well as a host of press corps. A press conference was held immediately following the discussion and forum.

The debate featured a series of questions presented by Mr. Shaw to the candidates in a round table format. The wide-ranging topics and the variety of views presented by the different candidates were informative and well received by the near capacity audience.

However, no debate is complete without some form of drama, and the Cook County Board Presidential Forum was no different. Cook County Board President, Todd Stroger, kept things interesting by occasionally interjecting or interrupting the discussion to make a point or challenge an accusation by one of his opponents. Yet for the most part the forum was well-run and informative.

Chicago attorney Robert Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Illinois personal injury cases for over 30 years, serving those areas in and around Cook County, including Wheeling, Hanover Park, Orland Park, and Flossmoor.