>> And 2 weeks, voters will finally make their decision on who will become the next U.S.

senator from Illinois, Republican and former State Party chair Don Tracy and Democrat and current Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton are both on the ballot.

The winner will replace long term.

Democrat Durbin, who's retiring after 30 years in office and both candidates are joining us tonight at 08:00PM for A W T Tw News for him.

Our brand is Freeman joins us now with more on what we can expect tonight.

Brand what are some of the issues here.

So lots to get to tonight.

Of course, Joanna anyone, you know who is running for public office this campaign season, affordability is going to be pretty high on their list.

So we're going to talk about gas prices and inflation and housing tariffs.

>> But we also have to get into health care, education, trust in public institutions is kind of come up in conversation tonight as we did last week when we spoke with the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor are we're also including questions from our colleagues in downstate Carbondale and Peoria with questions about issues that are especially important to folks in other parts of the state.

Not just Chicago and also like last week, Wbtw News is, you know, we're hosting the only forum that the candidates in this race are doing this season.

So there really is a lot to get to.

Brenda, tell us more about the candidates.

What are they running on?

So Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, she has been running a campaign that emphasizes Congress's responsibility to serve as a check on the White House.

Here's what she said to that effect when she joined us just after the March primary.

>> But I heard every single day on the campaign trail that people were frustrated with what was happening in Washington.

They felt that there was too much of a sort of go along to get along mentality.

And what I heard from people when I asked what they were looking for in their next United States senator is I'm looking for someone who will go to the mat fighting for me who will stand up and hold this president accountable as we are watching him systematically attempt to dismantle our democracy.

Stratton is a Chicago and here she is today campaigning a bit before doing her early voting.

>> On the issues she talks about holding corporate interests accountable, raising the federal minimum wage to $25 a tax cut for the middle class and getting out of what she calls President Trump's trade war.

Her critics will say her positions aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America.

And while her views are on the progressive end of the political spectrum, Stratton herself does not identify as Socialists are.

what about the Republican nominee, Don Tracy?

So Don Tracy from Central Illinois, he argues that communities from outside the Chicago area deserve a stronger voice in Washington and he believes the diversity of his experience, both professionally and in politics makes him an ideal candidate.

Here he is on Chicago tonight.

Also after the March primary.

>> You need to have citizen participation.

and the private sector for on many decades and lawyer more decades than I care to admit.

also been in business and I owned and operated my own small business times when I had to struggle to put food on the table and make payroll at the same time.

But I think we're the hardest and most important all human endeavors is is politics.

And I feel like I've got the skill set that being a lawyer and having succeeded in business as well.

>> Tracy says he wants to lower the cost of living, including taxes, energy costs, inflation and healthcare expenses he supports securing the border, enforcing immigration laws, reducing government regulation.

Of course, he faces an uphill fight in this race.

No Republican has won statewide office in Illinois in 12 years.

Price can you remind people when they can see the form?

Very important question.

Joanna, glad you asked tonight at 08:00PM right here on W T Tw as well as our Facebook and YouTube pages.

And of course W t Tw Dot com hours again, it's the only form in this race.

So some of our fellow public broadcasting stations, both radio and television, they're