Institute of Politics, Harris Public Policy, and Crime Lab Announce Chicago Mayoral Runoff Forum

CHICAGO – Since 2011, more than 4,000 people have been murdered and 19,000 wounded in the city of Chicago, a continuation of the legacy of violence that has challenged a succession of city administrations and inflicted disproportionate and tragic pain on the South and West Side communities. This violence drives residents and businesses out of Chicago and threatens the future of our city. 

On March 13, the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago (IOP), in partnership with the university’s Crime Lab and Harris School of Public Policy, will hold a mayoral candidate’s forum devoted to the crucial issue of crime and violence. 

“Chicago is a tale of two cities,” said David Axelrod, director of the IOP. “Much of our city is safe and prosperous, but some of our neighborhoods are besieged by intolerable levels of crime and violence. We have assembled a thoughtful panel to probe the candidates and, we hope, dig deeper on this grave challenge to our community.” 

The forum will be moderated by Laura Washington, IOP Pritzker Fellow, Chicago Sun-Times columnist, and ABC-7 political analyst. It will feature a panel of expert questioners who offer unique perspectives on Chicago’s crime problem. 

• Liz Dozier, a former Chicago Public Schools principal and founder and CEO of Chicago Beyond, a social impact investor that backs the fight for youth equity and justice.
• Charles Ramsey, the former police commissioner of Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and former deputy superintendent and a 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department. 
• Alex Kotlowitz, award-winning journalist, author, and documentarian, whose latest book “An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago,” will be released in March. It chronicles the city’s violence through a series of moving, intimate stories.

The forum will begin with a brief overview from Jens Ludwig, director of the Crime Lab and a noted expert on crime and poverty. Nine candidates have agreed to participate in the event should they advance to a runoff in the February 26 election: Gery Chico, Amara Enyia, Bob Fioretti, La Shawn Ford, Jerry Joyce, Lori Lightfoot, Susana Mendoza, Paul Vallas, and Willie Wilson. The other candidates have been invited; responses are pending. 

“We hope and trust that any candidate who is offering him or herself as the next mayor will seize this opportunity to lay out their plans to address a problem of extraordinary concern to so many of our citizens,” Axelrod said. 

The forum will take place from 12-1:30 PM on March 13 on the University of Chicago campus before an audience of approximately 350 students and community residents. Candidates will be given time at the end of the forum to make brief closing statements. 

2019 Chicago mayoral run-off debate

March 13, 2019
12 – 1:30 PM
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
915 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Matthew Jaffe, IOP Communications Director, mjaffe@uchicago.edu

About the University of Chicago Institute of Politics

The non-partisan Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago is an extracurricular program designed to ignite in young people a passion for politics and public service. In the past six years, the IOP has welcomed over 1,200 guests to campus as part of its Speaker Series, hosted 113 Fellows as part of its resident and visiting Pritzker Fellows Program, supported over 1,200 fully-funded student internships around the world, and helped over 800 students participate in student-led civic engagement projects. 

About the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Steeped in the University of Chicago’s rich tradition of scholarship and innovation, Harris Public Policy faculty and students bring an exacting, data-driven perspective to the full spectrum of policy concerns. It is this point of view that has defined Harris since its founding, guiding the School as it addresses today’s most complex challenges and nurtures a new generation of leaders drive to change the world. 

About the University of Chicago Crime Lab

The University of Chicago Crime Lab partners with policymakers and practitioners to help cities design and test the most promising ways to reduce crime and improve human lives at scale. The Crime Lab focuses on the most important criminal justice challenges of our time, including efforts to help Chicago and other cities prevent crime and violence from happening in the first place, improve schooling and income opportunities for those living in communities most impacted by violence, and reduce the harms associated with the administration of criminal justice. The Crime Lab is one of five Urban Labs at the Harris School of Public Policy, working on the most difficult challenges cities face, such as concentrated poverty, crime, poor-quality schooling and health care, and pollution. 

###

This story original to the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.