Champaign County Clerk candidates disagree on Trump’s SAVE Act, decline to discuss federal charges

two men sitting in podcast studio at IPM.
Democratic incumbent Aaron Ammons and Republican challenger Alan Anderson at the IPM studios.

The candidates for Champaign County Clerk and Recorder sat down with Illinois Public media on Aug. 21 for a candidate forum to discuss issues ranging from election administration, federal policies and the greatest challenges facing the clerk’s office. 

Democratic incumbent Aaron Ammons is facing Republican challenger Alan Anderson.

The forum was co-sponsored by the the League of Women Voters of Champaign County, the NAACP of Champaign County and the News-Gazette.


Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM