Progress Illinois

The Republican strategy in the 11th District this election year has been largely focused on depicting cement magnate Marty Ozinga as a blue-collar everyman. Indeed, Ozinga's own employees have been repeatedly used in political ads, testifying to his worth as a candidate. While it's fine for the campaign to point out that Marty has the support of some of the hundreds of people who work for Ozinga Bros. Cement, one has to wonder about the ethics of getting those who depend on you for a paycheck to appear in your campaign ads.

Take this campaign mailer posted today by Capitol Fax. It features a lifelong Ozinga Bros. employee, Ed Jongsma, standing in front of one of the company's cement trucks alongside the caption: "I don't trust politicians ... but I do trust Marty Ozinga. He's a good man and my friend." In his testimonial, Jongsma points out that Ozinga Bros. has "given me a paycheck for almost 30 years."

While there is no reason to doubt this man's sincerity, the fact that he relies on the candidate's company for his livelihood certainly colors his endorsement.

Meanwhile, if voters want a full picture of where Ozinga stands in regards to working Illinoisans, they might want to look into his own statements about labor laws. For instance, it was just a few months ago that Ozinga complained about the overly generous worker's compensation policies in the Prairie State.