>> UPDATE, Aug. 24, 2011: Download the transcript for this #BGALive segment (PDF)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel sat down with the BGA for nearly a full hour of uninterrupted conversation this week at Loyola University’s School of Communication, as part of our #BGALive series of virtual town hall meetings. The conversation was live-streamed here on www.bettergov.org.

In the weeks leading up to the event, hundreds of people sent us questions for the Mayor, via Twitter, Facebook, WindyCitizen.com and email. The topics we discussed were greatly influenced by these questions, and a few were posed directly to Mayor Emanuel. The event was the most attended #BGALive segment yet, and several news outlets published stories about the interview.

As you’ll see in the archived version of the livestream—posted below—we talked about the Mayor’s commitment to the BGA mission: A government that’s honest, fair, efficient, open and accountable. And specifically, his campaign promises, the hits and misses so far, the challenges his administration is facing, and his goals for the future.

Now it’s your turn: Watch the conversation and give us your thoughts about the questions, the answers and the format. Your feedback will help us as we plan more #BGALive events in the future, as we continue to shine a light on government and hold public officials accountable.

Aug. 17, 2011 — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel sits down for a virtual town hall meeting with BGA President & CEO Andy Shaw. The 45-minutue good-government talk was produced in partnership with the Loyola University School of Communication, and live-streamed at www.bettergov.org. For previous livestreams, visit the #BGALive archive.