ABC7 Chicago, with League of Women Voters and Univision, holds Chicago mayoral runoff debate

Anchor/Reporters Judy Hsu and Ravi Baichwal to lead hour-long commercial-free debate between Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Chicago Mayoral Debate: Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas face off in ABC7 studios

Watch the complete ABC7 Chicago mayoral candidates debate between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC7, Chicago's most watched television station and the premier broadcaster of countless local debates for more than two decades, will showcase LIVE and COMMERCIAL-FREE, "VOTE 2023: THE RACE FOR CHICAGO MAYOR: THE PEOPLE'S FORUM," Thursday, March 16, from 7 p.m. -8 p.m.. at the ABC7 Studios, 190 North State Street. ABC7 Eyewitness News anchors Judy Hsu and Ravi Baichwal will lead the 60-minute, commercial-free debate between the last two candidates standing in the Chicago mayoral runoff election in April, Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas. The candidates will square off as they also answer questions from ABC7 political reporter Craig Wall and Univision Chicago anchor Alex Hernandez. Various Chicago community groups have been invited to be part of the studio audience and may have an opportunity to ask questions.

"VOTE 2023: THE RACE FOR CHICAGO MAYOR: THE PEOPLE'S FORUM" will air live on ABC7's digital channel 7.2 on Thursday, March 16, from 7:00-8:00 p.m. and will also stream live on ABC7Chicago.com, ABC7's 24/7 digital stream, the ABC7 News App, ABC7 YouTube channel and Facebook. Then, on Friday, March 17 from 10:35 p.m.-11:35 p.m., the debate will air on ABC7's main channel 7.1. with a repeat broadcast on Sunday, March 19 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. on 7.1.

The commercial free debate will also be translated and aired live on Univision's digital platforms and on UNIMAS (WXFT-TV) on Sunday March 19 at 4 p.m.

According to ABC7 Chicago President and General Manager John Idler, "In this our second mayoral debate, voters will now have the opportunity to focus closely on the two runoff candidates and their plans to govern our city. The candidates will field questions from our panelists and they also will hear from a diverse mix of civic organizations who will ask questions about issues important to the communities they serve."

Community organizations planning to attend:

- Access Living

- ACLU Illinois

- Chicago Federation of Labor

- Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

- Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

- Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights

- Chicago United

- Chicago Urban League

- Chicago Votes

- Chinese American Service League (CASL)

- El Valor