Arts Alliance Illinois And Partners To Hold Mayoral Arts Forum At Broadway In Chicago's Broadway Playhouse

Arts Alliance Illinois Executive Director Claire Rice, Broadway In Chicago President Lou Raizin and Vice President Eileen LaCario, and League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Deb Clapp, are pleased to announce the 2019 Chicago Mayoral Arts Forum on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at Broadway In Chicago's Broadway Playhouse, located at 175 East Chestnut Street in Chicago. Open to the general public, the event begins at 6pm and will conclude at approximately 8pm. Admission is free.

Alison Cuddy, Marilynn Thoma Artistic Director of the Chicago Humanities Festival, and Craig Dellimore, Political Editor at WBBM Newsradio, will co-host and moderate this discussion on issues of importance and relevance to the arts, culture, and creative industries including arts education, community development, cultural exchange, public engagement, and sources of support ahead of the Chicago Mayoral Election on February 26, 2019.

Invitations for candidates to participate were extended regardless of affiliation; those confirmed for the 2019 Chicago Mayoral Arts Forum as of January 15, 2019 include Gery Chico, Lori Lightfoot, Susana Mendoza, Toni Preckwinkle, Paul Vallas, and Willie Wilson. Any additional participants in the Forum will be announced at later dates. Questions may be submitted to the Forum in advance by visiting bit.ly/ChiArtsForum, or by using the hashtag #ChiArtsForum on social media.

Says Claire Rice, Executive Director of Arts Alliance Illinois: Our Alliance members, and the broader coalition of arts stakeholders we are honored to represent, look forward to this important and timely discussion. In the spirit of our mission to keep creativity at the center of Illinois communities, we are facilitating an open conversation between mayoral hopefuls and the general public about the many roles that arts and culture can play in a vibrant future for all Chicago residents.

While admission to the 2019 Chicago Mayoral Arts Forum is free, space is strictly limited. Attendees must book complimentary tickets in advance, online at bit.ly/2019CMAF. Those with questions may call 312-977-9483.

Arts Alliance Illinois is the Lead Sponsor of the 2019 Chicago Mayoral Arts Forum, with Host Sponsor Broadway In Chicago and Supporting Sponsor the League of Chicago Theatres. Arts Alliance Illinois thanks the following organizations for joining the Forum as Promotional Partners: Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago Loop Alliance, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Illinois Humanities, Ingenuity, The Joffrey Ballet, the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG AFTRA), Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and TimeLine Theatre Company.

About Alison Cuddy
Alison Cuddy is the Marilynn Thoma Artistic Director of the Chicago Humanities Festival, the largest and longest-running humanities and ideas festival in North America. Before joining CHF, she spent more than 10 years at WBEZ 91.5 FM, the NPR affiliate in Chicago. There she helped launch Odyssey, a nationally syndicated talk show of arts and ideas, hosted the award-winning morning newsmagazine Eight Forty-Eight, and reported on arts and culture. In addition to her work at CHF, Cuddy moderates public forums in partnership with many of the city's cultural and civic institutions, including the the Arts Club of Chicago, Gene Siskel Film Center, IDEO, the Illinois Holocaust Museum, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Visit chicagohumanities.org to learn more.

About Craig Dellimore
Political Editor for WBBM Newsradio since 2001, Craig Dellimore joined the all-news AM and FM radio station in 1983, after several years with the Associated Press Radio Network in Washington, DC. Throughout his time at WBBM, Dellimore has performed a wide variety of roles including anchor, Managing Editor, Legislative Correspondent, and Suburban Bureau Chief. He has covered several national political campaigns and conventions for WBBM including those in 2008 and 2016, which he regards among the country's most historic political cycles. Dellimore is also the immediate Past President of SAG AFTRA's Chicago Local and remains head of the Local Broadcast Steering Committee for the union, which represents actors, broadcasters, voiceover artists, vocalists, and other performers. Visit chicago.cbslocal.com to learn more.

About Arts Alliance Illinois
Arts Alliance Illinois activates artists, creatives, and cultural organizations through systems and policy change to put arts at the center of Illinois communities. With nearly 25,000 active subscribers and hundreds of members, the Alliance is the only statewide, multidisciplinary organization concentrated on the health of the entire creative sector, strategically focused on civic engagement, arts education, cultural equity, and arts access. The Alliance works to realize a world in which the arts are central and indispensable to Illinois, where people acknowledge that the arts fuel creativity and innovation, sharpen our state's competitive edge, attract and retain talent, promote cross-cultural understanding, and aid in solving civic and social issues, keeping Illinois nationally and globally connected. Visit artsalliance.org to learn more.

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