LWV Hosts Candidate Forum for 15th State Senate District

On Friday, Feb. 29, the H-F Area and Park Forest Area Leagues of Women Voters hosted a candidate forum at the  for the candidates running for the 15th State Senate District.

Candidate Napoleon Harris, who was unable to fully participate in the forum because of a scheduling conflict, appeared to introduce himeself and make an introductory statement. A graduate of Thornton Township High School and Northwestern University, Mr. Harris went on to play for the NFL for seven years. A resident of Flossmoor, today he owns and operates two Beggars Pizza restaurants—one in Harvey and one in Orland Park. Mr. Harris stated that he will use his experience as an entrepreneur to bring new jobs to the community and he plans to recruit companies to move to our community, too.

After giving their introductory statements, candidates Patricia "Pat" Mahon and Donna Miller explained their positions on a variety of topics through written questions submitted by audience members and screened for clarity by League members.

Mrs. Mahon, a graduate of Bradley University and DePaul College of Law and a resident of South Holland for 21 years, works as the Deputy Village Administrator of South Holland. As the Deputy Village Administrator, Mrs. Mahon has protected hundreds of municipal employees from layoffs , helped local companies expand and create new jobs, and has helped to make sure that the village of South Holland has kept a balanced budget for the past ten years—without cutting services to families. She is supported by many of the 40 village mayors in the Southland. Mrs. Mahon plans to work with the state legislature to balance Illinois' budget.

Mrs. Miller stated that she will use her corporate job training skills for developing workforce programs. She supports an adequate and equitable funding system for education that addresses disparities on all levels and provides results from early childhood education to community colleges and other educational programs. She also states that she will ensure that everyone has access to quality and affordable health care and prevention, diagnosis or treatment options. Mrs. Miller is supported by the IFT, IEA, ATU, UFCW, and other economic and healthcare unions as well as by several local mayors.

During the 75 minute forum, these two candidates answered over 15 questions submitted by audience members who seemed very pleased with this opportunity to hear their positions on a variety of topics.