Chicago's mayoral forum blitz is on

The Feb. 28 mayoral election has candidates gearing up for a citywide campaign blitz.

• The field of candidates is set at nine after two were removed from the ballot due to signature challenges.

Be smart: Learn about candidates firsthand during live forums presented through Election Day, many of which tackle specific issues.

What they're saying: "Four years ago I attended as many mayoral forums as I could with as many friends as I could gather," reader Regan Burke, who chronicled her own work on political campaigns in "In that Number," tells Axios.

• "I wanted to see how each candidate interacted with each other, how they responded to audience questions and how they greeted people afterwards. We have some smart new candidates. I can't wait to hear them."

State of play: The candidates are not required to attend any forums. Some will attend all of them, others only a few.

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García did not attend the forum in December, for example.

Upcoming events include:

Jan. 7: The 2023 Disability Mayoral Candidates' Forum is being produced by Access Living at their headquarters (115 W. Chicago Ave). Organizers say both Lightfoot and Garcia will participate. 1-2:30pm.

Jan. 14: The 2023 Chicago Mayoral Forum, hosted by the Libertarian Party of Chicago, happens in the auditorium at Sulzer Regional Library from 11-12pm.

Jan. 14: The Chicago Women's Mayoral Forum takes place at the Chicago Temple Building (77 W. Washington) from 2-4pm. It's also live-streamed.

Jan. 18: The Mayoral Forum on Aging, presented by the Center for Life & Learning and Skyline Village Chicago, takes place at Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue from 12-1:30pm.

Jan. 26: The People's Unity Platform Candidate Forum takes over New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church (4301 W. Washington) at 6pm.

Jan. 26: WCPT-FM presents its 2023 Chicago Mayoral Candidate Forum, live at Morningstar Auditorium (22 West Washington) at 12:15pm.

Jan. 28: The 2023 Mayoral Primary Forum is presented by the Chicago West Side branch of the NAACP at The Kehrein Center For The Arts (5628 West Washington). 12pm-2pm.

Feb. 8: The Early Childhood Education Mayoral Forum is produced by the Chicagoland ECE at Logan Center for the Arts (915 E. 60th St.). 6:30pm.

Feb. 10: The Chicago Food Justice Mayoral Forum is held by the Chicago Food Policy Action Council at the UIC Student Center (750 S. Halsted). 4-5:30pm.