CHICAGO — Residents in the 18th Ward will soon have the opportunity voice their support for either incumbent candidate Ald. Lona Lane or her opponent, Derrick Curtis, by voting in Tuesday's runoff election.
Since challenger Curtis forced the two-term alderman into a runoff in February's election, Lane has so far been largely absent from the race for re-election. In the initial round of voting, Curtis came out ahead with 3,618 votes (30.4 percent), only a marginal advantage over Lane's 3,557 votes, or 29.9 percent.
Yet Lane has repeatedly failed to show up for any debate appearances during the course of the election, most recently being a no-show at a forum with Curtis at Greater Walters AME Zion Church, 8422 S. Damen Ave.
According to some constituents, her lack of participation has caused some of her support to wane.
“It’s hard for me to talk about a person who’s not here, but I’m looking to be accessible to the people," Curtis, who is currently a Department of Streets and Sanitation superintendent, told DNAinfo in March after Lane's failure to arrive at the Zion Church debate. "She’s not, and it shows. It’s a terrible thing.”
Lane later responded to her series of absences on Twitter, saying, "I am usually in the 18th Ward Service Office, riding the ward or City Hall."
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