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Health & Fitness

GOP gubernatorial rivals will debate at Benedictine on eve of primary

Benedictine University will host the final debate prior to the 2014 primary featuring the Republican candidates running for governor from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 6 in the Dan and Ada Rice Center on the University’s main campus in Lisle.

The University has invited the four candidates – state Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), state Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), state Treasurer Dan Rutherford and Bruce Rauner, chairman of R8 Capital Partners and former chairman of the private equity firm GTCR – who are vying to run against incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in November.
                                         
The debate is a ticket-required event. A limited number of free tickets are available and may be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis by contacting ccl@ben.edu or Priya Roberts at (630) 829-6460. Tickets must be acquired in advance and will not be issued at the door.

AM 560 “The Answer,” which is co-sponsoring the debate with Benedictine University, will air a live remote broadcast from 5:00-7:00 p.m. leading up to the debate featuring former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh. A one-hour post-debate show is scheduled from 9:00-10:00 p.m.

The nonpartisan Center for Civic Leadership (CCL) at Benedictine University – the fastest growing university in the country – seeks to shape a new generation of leaders and responsible citizens. The CCL regularly invites prominent figures to speak on campus to involve and engage students and the community in multiple issues and topics of public concern.

In recent years, the University has hosted former Republican National Committee chairman and current MSNBC political analyst Michael Steele, Democratic strategist and former President Obama advisor David Axelrod, and Children’s Defense Fund founder and president Marian Wright Edelman.

Each spring, the CCL holds “Youth Government Day” for area high school and community college students to learn more about the importance of government by examining some of the most-pressing political issues affecting their country, their state and their community. Last year, students explored political corruption in Illinois. In 2012, they observed mock Occupy Wall Street and tea party rallies.

To learn about more upcoming speakers and events sponsored by the CCL, visit www.ben.edu/ccl.

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Benedictine University is an independent Roman Catholic institution located in Lisle, Illinois just 25 miles west of Chicago, and has branch campuses in Springfield, Illinois and Mesa, Arizona. Founded in 1887, Benedictine provides 55 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate and four doctoral programs. Benedictine University is ranked No. 1 among the country’s fastest-growing campuses between 2000-2010 in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s list of private nonprofit research institutions, and Forbes magazine named Benedictine among “America’s Top Colleges” for the third consecutive year in 2013. Benedictine University’s Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program is listed by Crain’s Chicago Business as the fifth largest in the Chicago area in 2013.
        


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