The annual Elmhurst College Governmental Forum is one of the region’s most widely respected venues for the discussion of economic and governance issues vital to Illinois.

This year’s Governmental Forum, titled Illinois’ Reckoning: Solving the Problems, Fulfilling the Promise, will be held on Friday, March 7—a little more than a week before the pivotal state gubernatorial primary election.

Moderating the discussion is Illinois’ longest-serving governor, James R. Thompson. The panelists include NBC-Channel 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern; Ty Fahner, president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and a former Illinois attorney general; Chicago Tribune Editorial Page Editor Bruce Dold; Robert C. Knuepfer Jr., senior partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP and an Elmhurst College trustee; and Tod Miles, senior vice president of public finance at the investment banking firm of Hutchinson Shockey Erley & Co.

The Seventh Annual Governmental Forum will take place on March 7 at the Drury Lane Conference Center, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m., with breakfast at 7:30. The program runs from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The event is open to the public. Admission is $25 per person and includes a full breakfast. For more information about the Forum, including how to purchase tickets, see our Governmental Forum website.