Note: You can watch the forum in its entirety on NBC 5 and in the video player above beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.
Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle will square off Thursday in the first televised forum of the final two candidates for Chicago mayor ahead of the runoff election.
NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago, in partnership with the Union League Club of Chicago and the Chicago Urban League, will host the forum beginning at 6 p.m. on March 7.
The entire event will be broadcast live on NBC 5, on NBCChicago.com and on the NBC Chicago app. It will also be simultaneously translated live in Spanish on Telemundo Chicago, TelemundoChicago.com and on the Telemundo Chicago app.
The hour-long event will be broadcast live from NBC Tower and moderated by NBC 5 political editor Carol Marin, with NBC reporter Mary Ann Ahern and Telemundo’s Benjamin Zamora taking questions from the audience.
Lightfoot and Preckwinkle advanced to the runoff election after garnering 17 and 16 percent of the vote, respectively, to finish first and second of the 14 candidates running in the municipal election on Tuesday. The runoff election, held when no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote outright, is scheduled for April 2.
"We look forward to Chicago’s top political team questioning the candidates about the issues facing our city," said Frank Whittaker, NBC 5 station manager and vice president of news. "It promises to be a lively and informative hour for our viewers."
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"It is important to bring each mayoral candidate’s stance on the issues to the Spanish-speaking audience so they can make an informed decision on April 2," said Diana Maldonado, vice president of news for Telemundo Chicago.
Both stations previously hosted the first forum of the candidates for governor ahead of the November election, plus the first forum of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates before the March 2018 primary, as well as a 2014 forum of Republican candidates for Illinois governor and the award-winning Chicago Mayoral Debate in 2015.
You can join the conversation about Thursday's mayoral forum on social media using the hashtag #ChiMayorForum.
