They’ve Been Asking for Your Vote. Who Showed Up to Ask You Face-to-Face?
September 23, 2026 | Freeport, IL
Presented by Elena Reyes
RED, RIGHT & BLUE | F4F NEWS
A packed room of voters gathered at the Freeport Public Library Tuesday evening expecting an opportunity to hear directly from candidates seeking their support in the upcoming November midterm election.
What they found instead was a candidate forum that had become considerably smaller than originally envisioned after many of the candidates invited to participate did not attend.
Approximately a month before the event, the League of Women Voters sent invitations to local candidates whose names will appear on ballots throughout Freeport and Stephenson County. As voters made plans to attend and hear directly from the people asking for their support and their vote, many of those candidates ultimately did not participate.
By the time the forum began promptly at 6:30 p.m., the League had pivoted, with the question-and-answer portion of the evening focusing on candidates for the Stephenson County Board.
The room, however, was packed.
Residents had shown up willing to listen and hoping to learn more about the candidates they will be asked to choose between in November. Many of the candidates they may have hoped to hear from were nowhere to be found.
That was particularly significant because County Board races are divided into districts. Only voters within a particular district can cast ballots in that County Board race. Meanwhile, candidates seeking offices representing all or much larger portions of Freeport and Stephenson County — including State Senate, Congress, County Clerk, Sheriff and Circuit Court Judge — had also been invited.
Most did not appear.
A Limited Forum With a Limited Format
Tuesday night's event was not a debate.
County Board candidates were given two minutes for an introduction, followed by a round of general questions in which each candidate responded to the same question. That was followed by individual questions drawn from a basket, with each candidate receiving a different question. Candidates then received approximately one minute for closing remarks.
Members of the audience were not permitted to directly question candidates.
Two candidates seeking offices outside the County Board races also appeared.
Joe Berning, the Democratic candidate for Illinois' 45th State Senate District challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Andrew Chesney, attended, as did Democratic Stephenson County Clerk candidate Suzanne M. Cook.
Neither Berning nor Cook was asked questions. Each was given approximately two minutes to introduce themselves and another minute for closing remarks.
In the State Senate race, Berning appeared while Chesney made the decision not to participate. In the County Clerk race, Cook appeared while Republican incumbent Jazmin L. Wingert chose not to participate.
Their appearances demonstrated that candidates outside the County Board races still had an opportunity to stand before the audience and speak directly to voters, even though they were not included in the question-and-answer portion of the evening.
County Board Candidates Who Participated
The full question-and-answer portion featured Joseph R. Cardoso Jr. (D), seeking the four-year District C seat; Casey Marie Jacobs Heneghan (D), seeking the two-year District C seat; Roxane Rice (D), District D; Adam M. Moderow (D), District E; and Edward Klein (D), District I.
Samuel L. Newton (D), a candidate for County Board District B, arrived near the end of the event and was given approximately one minute to address those in attendance.
The candidates who participated had an opportunity to introduce themselves, discuss issues facing county government and answer questions in front of the voters they hope to represent.
But many of the other names voters will see on their November ballots were absent.
The Candidates Who Weren't There
The list stretched well beyond the County Board.
In the race for United States Senate, Don Tracy (R), Juliana Stratton (D) and Whitfield Harrington Jr. (American Center) did not participate.
Gubernatorial candidates Darren Bailey (R), JB Pritzker (D) and Collin Corbett (I) did not participate.
Attorney General candidates Robert W. Fioretti (R) and Kwame Raoul (D); Secretary of State candidates Diane M. Harris (R) and Alexi Giannoulias (D); Comptroller candidates Bryan Drew (R) and Margaret Croke (D); and Treasurer candidates Max Solomon (R) and Michael W. Frerichs (D) did not participate.
Neither candidate in the 16th Congressional District race — Darin LaHood (R) and Paul Nolley (D) — participated. The same was true in the 17th Congressional District, where Dillan S. Vancil (R) and Eric Sorensen (D) did not participate.
Republican incumbent State Sen. Andrew S. Chesney did not participate, while Democratic challenger Joe Berning appeared and addressed the audience.
Illinois House Republican Leader Tony M. McCombie (R) and State Rep. John M. Cabello (R) did not participate.
At the county level, Republican incumbent County Clerk Jazmin L. Wingert did not participate, while Democratic challenger Suzanne M. Cook appeared and addressed voters.
Stephenson County Treasurer Stephanie A. Helms (R) and Sheriff Steve Stovall (R) were also absent.
Regional Superintendent of Schools candidates Scott Bloomquist (R), for the Boone and Winnebago County region, and Christopher J. Tennyson (R), for the Carroll, Jo Daviess and Stephenson County region, did not participate.
Several Stephenson County Board candidates were also absent: Lou Hayes (R), District C four-year term; Larry Pittsley (R), District C two-year term; Troy Barr (R), District D; Joshua Libby (R), District E; Clayton Zimmerman (R), District F; Jerry Clay (R), District G; Nicole Baker (R), District H; and Cynthia J. Lawfer, District I.
Circuit Court Judge candidate Judd Thurman (R) also did not participate.
When the Voters Show Up
The political makeup of the candidates who appeared Tuesday night was impossible to miss.
Every candidate who addressed the audience was a Democrat.
That fact does not tell voters whether any of those candidates deserve their support, just as an absence alone does not establish why a candidate did not participate. Scheduling conflicts, prior commitments or other circumstances may have prevented individual candidates from attending.
What can be established is who was in the room and who was not.
The voters were there.
The forum itself was hardly confrontational. There was no debate and no opportunity for audience members to stand and directly challenge candidates. County Board candidates faced a structured format of introductions, moderated questions and closing remarks.
Berning and Cook faced even less. Neither was questioned. Each was simply given an opportunity to stand before the room, introduce themselves and make their case.
Candidate forums offer something campaign advertisements, mailers, social media posts and carefully produced videos cannot: the opportunity for voters to see the people seeking public office stand before their community.
Tuesday night, the League of Women Voters provided that opportunity.
Freeport and Stephenson County residents filled the room.
Some candidates stood before them.
Many did not.
And one of the biggest stories to emerge from Tuesday night's candidate forum wasn't something said from the front of the room.
It was how many candidates voters never got the opportunity to hear from at all.
THE REPUBLICAN PERSPECTIVE: WHAT ARE WE AFRAID OF?
By Jack Sullivan | Republican Analyst, F4F NEWS
Every Republican candidate invited to Tuesday night's forum failed to appear.
Every one.
As the Republican analyst for F4F NEWS, I'm not going to pretend that isn't worth talking about.
Republicans throughout Stephenson County, Illinois and the country have spent months telling people how important this election is.
Register to vote. Get informed. Get your friends and family to vote. Get to the polls. Show up on Election Day. Flip Illinois Red.
Okay. How do we honestly expect to flip anything red, let alone keep what we have if our candidates are actively hiding from the voters.
What are we afraid of?
If we're going to tell voters that showing up is their responsibility, candidates should be prepared to show up in front of those voters themselves.
And Tuesday night, the voters showed up.
They packed a room at the Freeport Public Library because they wanted to hear from the people asking for the privilege of representing them.
The Republican candidates didn't.
Joe Berning, the Democrat challenging Republican State Sen. Andrew Chesney, showed up. Chesney did not.
Suzanne Cook, the Democrat challenging Republican County Clerk Jazmin Wingert, showed up. Wingert did not.
Democratic County Board candidates showed up. Their Republican opponents did not.
This wasn't one Republican missing an event.
It wasn't two.
Every Republican candidate invited to participate was absent.
There may be legitimate individual explanations for why particular candidates could not attend, and those explanations deserve to be heard. But when every candidate from one party is absent from the same event, Republicans should be willing to confront the question that creates.
What are we doing?
Residents throughout Freeport and Stephenson County aren't exactly overflowing with confidence in either political party. At the same time, controversy, disagreement and frustration surrounding local government have given residents plenty of reasons to demand more from the people seeking to represent them.
That's precisely when candidates need to get in front of people.
This wasn't a political ambush.
There was no debate. There was no open microphone for audience members to confront candidates. Berning and Cook weren't asked a single question. They received approximately two minutes to introduce themselves and one minute to close.
They still showed up.
Republican candidates should recognize the message their collective absence can send to the people they're asking to support them.
No candidate has anything “in the bag.”
No candidate is owed someone's vote because there's an R beside their name.
No candidate is owed someone's vote because they're the incumbent.
Republicans can tell people to “get out and vote” from now until November.
But voters are entitled to ask a very important question in return:
For whom?
Candidates still have to make their case.
Incumbents have records to explain. Challengers have alternatives to present. Candidates have priorities to discuss and questions to answer.
And sometimes running for public office requires something even simpler:
Walking into a room filled with the people whose votes you're asking for and looking them in the eye.
Republicans are telling Stephenson County voters this election matters.
Tuesday night, voters demonstrated that they were willing to show up and listen.
The next time that opportunity comes around, Republican candidates might want to make sure they're standing in the room with them.
Investigative Reporting, Editing & Publication
Joshua T. Atkinson
Chairman | Fighting4Freeport