Mayoral candidates take lighter questions at forum at The Hideout
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We are just five days away from Chicago's mayor election, and on Thursday night, seven of the nine candidates headed to The Hideout rock club and community space to answer the important questions.
This forum at The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., was hosted by Axios Chicago's Justin Kaufmann and Monica Eng – both formerly of WBEZ. Kam Buckner, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, Ja'Mal Green, Brandon Johnson, Sophia King, Roderick Sawyer, and Paul Vallas all participated. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Willie Wilson were not present.
For this event, the candidates did not stand at a lectern all together. Instead, they were each invited up individually by Kaufmann and Eng, who stuck largely to the lighter side as they posed questions.
The candidates largely had serious answers as Kaufmann asked them what they were thinking in running for such a misery-inducing job as mayor. But a different side of the candidates came out when it came to "lightning rounds" about Chicago bands and iconic sports teams, among other subjects.
When asked his favorite Chicago band, Johnson said, "Every single musician that plays at churches on Sunday mornings in Chicago."
Garcia said his favorite local band was none other than the band Chicago, whom he saw play when he was a student at St. Rita High School. King picked Earth, Wind & Fire, and Vallas also picked the band Chicago – as well as Styx.
Green went in the direction of Chicago blues and chose Muddy Waters.
The candidates were also asked whether they preferred the Super Bowl champion 1985 Bears or the NBA champion 1996 Bulls. Most went with the Bears, but not all.
Sawyer said while the 1996 Bulls were "great," the '85 Bears were "iconic." He also noted that he attended Walter Payton's last NFL game.
But Buckner said while he was born the year the Bears won, he has a special affinity for the 1996 Bulls team – which won 72 games in a record that stood 20 years, and won the title on Father's Day a few years after Michael Jordan's father had passed away.
The candidates were also asked what they would order at Portillo's, the route they would take home if all the city's expressways and were shut down, and whether or not they approved of dibs for parking spaces during the snowy season.
The election is coming up on Tuesday.