Sponsors of Thursday’s mayoral debate say they sent out copies of possible questions to the participating candidates after news broke that the questions had been leaked to one contender.
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s campaign issued a statement Wednesday stating his campaign received a document purporting to be the questions for an upcoming debate sponsored by ABC 7 and the League of women Voters and Univision.
The statement claims the staffer who received the questions gave them to their campaign counsel, who then delivered the document to the news directors at WLS-TV and Univision Communications, Inc.
“Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia did not see the document,” the statement read. “In the interest of fairness, the organizers decided to share this document with the other campaigns for Mayor."
ABC 7 and the League of Women Voters said they “have taken steps to ensure the fairness of the debate.
“Our goal is to provide a fair and unbiased forum for the candidates to outline their positions on the issues,” the news company said in a statement.
Mayoral candidate Ald. Bob Fioretti called the incident “troubling.”
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“These revelations are troubling and really demonstrate the power of the political machine in Chicago,” said Michael Kolenc, and advisor to Fioretti’s campaign. “This is the same kind of back-room shenanigans that have put Chicago in the mess we are in now. Mr. Garcia owes Chicagoans an explanation.”
