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Students Stage Gubernatorial Debate

(CBS) – Students at Chicago's Whitney M. Young Magnet High School staged a Democratic gubernatorial debate Wednesday evening.

The organizers, and those asking the questions, were just as impressive as the candidates providing the answers, according to CBS 2 Political Reporter Derrick Blakley.

When the Whitney Young students called, all seven Democratic candidates for governor showed up.

"I think it shows the quality of the student body and their genuine interest in making the state better," Democratic hopeful J. B. Pritzker said.

Frontrunners, such as Chris Kennedy, and the underdogs, like Tio Hardiman, were there.

I was all the result of two inspired students who dreamed up the event.

"I had the idea actually while riding the train home, and I wrote the idea on a napkin, actually," Jeremy Liskar says.

"We had to put everything together in such a short amount of time because we really couldn't work during the summer," adds Anna Domahidi.

The winner of Wednesday's event? The student organizers.

"Coming out tonight and seeing all these people wanting to get into politics, it's a great sign for the future of our country," Kennedy says.

Whitney Young students also provided all the questions.

It's believed to be the first gubernatorial debate in the country organized by high-schoolers.

The other Democratic candidates were Daniel Biss, Bob Daiber, Alex Paterakis and Ameya Pawar.

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