WEST TOWN — The two aldermanic candidates vying to represent the city's sprawling and most gerrymandered ward will face off yet again on Tuesday.
The 2nd Ward debate between Alyx Pattision and Brain Hopkins is set for 7-8:15 p.m. Tuesday at Columbus Elementary School, 1003 N. Leavitt St. in Ukrainian Village, two weeks before the April 7 runoff.
Hopkins, a former chief of staff to Cook County Commissioner John Daley, and Pattison, a lawyer, debated last week, when both agreed that changing the name of the iconic John Hancock building at 875 N. Michigan Ave. would not be a good idea.
Greg Hinz, political editor from Crain's and Hal Dardick, a City Hall reporter from the Tribune, will be moderating Tuesday's forum, which is co-sponsored by the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood Association, the East Village Association and the Wicker Park Committee.
Questions for the event can be posted on the event's public Facebook page.
If you can't make it in person, CAN-TV will be live streaming the debate at http://cantv.org/live/
Early voting for the runoff started on Monday and ends April 4. Find your nearest polling spot.
In the Feb. 24 election, 9,828 votes were cast in the 2nd Ward. Hopkins won 29 percent or 2,850 votes, while Pattison trailed him with 24.15 percent and 2,373 votes.
"The runoff will allow us to talk about the issues more in-depth, in a way we couldn't with four other candidates," Pattison previously said.
Hopkins said, “An open seat in a brand new ward and people wanted to talk about the issues. I am honored to be the first place finisher and that gives me a great deal of momentum going into the runoff."
The boundaries of the 2nd Ward make their way west from the lakefront through at least seven neighborhoods, weaving and snaking through, at times, single blocks of Streeterville, the Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park and Bucktown.
Read an in-depth breakdown on the candidate responses to inquiries, ranging from thoughts on the redevelopment of the A. Finkl & Sons steel plant and the first 5 things they would do if elected, on Our Urban Times.
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