February 05, 2025
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City mayoral debate set for March 11

Dist. 111 debate on March 4

By Lee Provost
Kankakee Mayor Chris Curtis and mayoral candidate Genevra Walters will debate March 11, 2025 at Kankakee Community College.

Kankakee Mayor Chris Curtis and mayoral candidate Genevra Walters will debate March 11, 2025 at Kankakee Community College.

A Kankakee mayoral debate between first-term Mayor Chris Curtis and former Kankakee school superintendent and Democratic challenger Genevra Walters has been set.

The debate will be held in the Iroquois Room at the Kankakee Community College campus.

Hosted by the Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP, the debate will be held from 6-7 p.m. March 11.

The election is set for April 1. The new mayor will take office at the first Kankakee City Council meeting in May.

On March 4, the NAACP will be featuring a debate between the candidates, seeking to serve the next four years on the seven-member Kankakee School District 111 board.

The school debate will also be held at KCC’s Iroquois Room. The school board debate is set for 6-7:15 p.m.

There are seven candidates who have filed for a school board seat.

Those who have filed include incumbents Jess Gathing Jr., Darrell Williams and Tracy Verrett. Board challengers are Susan Lopez, Dajon Casiel and Reginald Bell.

An expired two-year term related to the death of then-board member Deb Johnston is also up for election.

The two-year term will be between Kathy Yancy Smith and Cynthia Veronda. Smith’s name is on the ballot, while Veronda, due to her timing on deciding to seek the office, will be a write-in candidate.