Residents of Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Carol Stream and Glendale Heights can meet the candidates running for their DuPage County Board seats at a free forum on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

ALMAS, the Alliance of Latinos Motivating Action in the Suburbs, is organizing the nonpartisan event at the DuPage County Administration Building, 421 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton. The event runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and combines an open-house candidate fair with three moderated forum panels, according to the group's announcement on Patch.

A dozen county board seats, two in each of the six districts, are on the November ballot. Three of those districts overlap directly with the Glenbard area.

District 4 covers all or parts of Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Lombard and Glendale Heights. District 6 takes in Carol Stream, West Chicago, Warrenville, Bartlett and Wayne. District 2 includes portions of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Downers Grove and several other communities, Shaw Local reported during the March primary season.

Forum schedule

The three auditorium panels are organized by district:

  • 5:45–6:30 p.m.: Districts 2 and 4
  • 6:45–7:30 p.m.: Districts 1 and 6
  • 7:45–8:30 p.m.: Districts 3 and 5

The first panel covers Districts 2 and 4, which include Glen Ellyn, Lombard and Glendale Heights. Carol Stream falls in District 6, part of the second panel.

Each panel is moderated by a trained ALMAS representative. All candidates for the county board races were invited, though the announcement does not specify which have confirmed.

Open house and questions

The atrium candidate fair runs the full three hours. Attendees can walk up to any candidate's table and ask questions one-on-one throughout the evening.

Residents can also submit questions in advance by emailing [email protected] with the subject line "Question for DuPage Candidate Forum." ALMAS organizers and the moderator will review submissions.

Spanish interpretation will be available on-site for the forum panels.

How to attend

The event is free and open to the public. Visitors should park in the 421 South Lot and enter through the 421 Main Entrance. All attendees will pass through security screening.

"Join us in this important opportunity to engage with local leadership and make informed choices for DuPage County's future," ALMAS President Dr. Lili Burciaga said in the group's Aug. 28 press release.

For more information about the forum, residents can email [email protected].