League of Women Voters explains reasons behind no empty chair forum, debate

The League of Women Voters of Central Kane County had joined together with other leagues to host a forum in 2018 with then incumbent Republican Peter Roskam and Democrat – now Congressman in the Sixth District – Sean Casten.

Roskam refused.

And despite the Leagues’ best efforts, Roskam dug in and would not change his mind, forcing the League to cancel the forum at Glenbard South High School.

“We worked very, very long and hard with the Glen Ellyn and Wheaton Leagues to get him to participate in a forum,” said Patti Lackman, co-president of the Kane League. “We literally went to his office at the DuPage County Airport.”

But because of the League’s rules, if one candidate does not show up, the opponent does not get to answer the questions at the forum, Lackman said.

The League cannot host what’s known as an empty chair debate – or forum – because it follows Federal Election Commission rules, according to the national organization’s website. www.lwv.org.

The website also states it is recommended that those standards also apply to state and local elections.

So there’s the rub.

Kane County Republican Chairman Kenneth Shepro – also an incumbent seeking re-election to the Kane County Board – said the federal rules should have nothing to do with League forums on local elections.

“I remain baffled by the logical absurdity of their rule,” Shepro said. “That would seem to punish the people who want to participate at the expense of those who – as a campaign tactic – deliberately choose not to participate. Why the League perpetuates its adherence to a rule that is not required by law makes no logical sense for their own self-proclaimed mission.”

If the League’s mission is truly informational, then a candidate not showing up should not stymy the one who does show up from answering questions, Shepro said.

“As long as the same opportunity is afforded to everybody, if you don’t show up, one could argue they are actually violating the Federal Election Commission rules,” Shepro said. “All the races we are concerned about are not federal and the Federal Election Commission has nothing whatever to do with local elections.”

But Voter Service Co-Chair Melissa Lieb of the board of directors for the League of Women Voters of Illinois said the League has to follow the IRS rules for a non-partisan nonprofit organization. The League is both a 501c3 and 501c4 organization.

A 501c3 is a tax status for charities and a 501c4 is a nonprofit organized to promote social welfare, according to the Internal Revenue Service website, www.irs.gov.

Lieb did not defend candidates who don’t show up to a forum, stating it was “a disservice to voters.”

“It is unfortunate that it is a strategy that is used when we are just trying to educate voters,” Lieb said. “What we’re hoping to do is create a situation where we minimize that from happening.”

Lieb said the League has ways to get recalcitrant candidates to attend – such as the public pressure or letters to the editor.

“It can’t be just us – it takes everybody to be outraged when candidates are not willing to participate in forums,” Lieb said. “We make it very easy for candidates to participate and easy for constituents to participate as well, virtually, through Zoom.”

Lieb said a successful example of voters pressuring candidates occurred in a LaGrange Park trustee race.

A forum was scheduled in March 2021 where three of four candidates agreed, and one was not responsive to the invitation to participate, Lieb said.

“In the week leading up to the forum, two backed out, leaving one candidate,” Leib said. “And then when we posted on our LaGrange area Facebook that it was canceled ... the constituents were very upset. And it ended up that all four agreed to have some meet and greet and make themselves available, because of public pressure and outcry.”

The League sponsors other platforms where voters can educate themselves, Lieb said.

“We have the Illinois Voter Guide, where the information is uploaded onto that platform,” Lieb said. “The Illinois Voter Guide is equitable and covers the entire state of Illinois. It does not matter how much money a candidate has, it levels the playing field. … It’s an avenue for voters, regardless of the political games that candidates play.”

All the forums the League hosts are uploaded to the site, Lieb said.

Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of Political Science at the Institute for Legal, Legislative & Policy Studies at the University of Illinois, said nonprofit laws governed by the IRS and the Federal Election Commission, do not always mesh.

If the League knows a candidate is not going to attend, it can’t host a debate or forum with an empty chair, Redfield said.

“Whether the League is being overly cautious or not, it is a reasonable interpretation of how the FEC and IRS define in-kind contributions in terms of electioneering,” Redfield said. “They can’t favor a candidate. And that can be interpreted not to make a person look bad – which is what an empty chair does.”