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Congressional Debate Called Off
Produced by Tony Arnold on Thursday, September 25, 2008
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It's still uncertain whether Republican nominee John McCain will show up at tomorrow's scheduled presidential debate. But here in Illinois, the candidates in a heated South Suburban Congressional race are dealing with their own debate controversy.
The 11th Congressional debate that didn't happen was scheduled for this morning. It would've pit three candidates against each other: Republican concrete magnate Martin Ozinga, Democratic state Senator Debbie Halvorson, and Green Party candidate Jason Wallace.
Instead, Ozinga and Wallace backed out, claiming the debate's sponsor, the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce, was showing bias. The two campaigns point to a number of concerns, including that Halvorson's husband is a former chairman for the chamber and they say a debate would be a pep rally for the senator.
The president of the Southland Chamber says there were no signs of influence toward any one candidate in the planning of the debate. She says Ozinga's concrete company is even a member of the chamber. The candidates still have several scheduled forums or debates before the election.
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