Progress Illinois

GOP congressional candidate Jim Oberweis' efforts to sweeten his image seem to have taken a literal turn as of late. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out some photos today that apparently show him handing out coupons for Oberweis Dairy ice cream. It appears they were taken at a parade last weekend in the 14th District:

Here's the hit:

“Out of touch and out of ideas, it seems the only thing Jim Oberweis has left to offer voters is a discounted ice cream sundae from his dairy empire,” said Ryan Rudominer, DCCC Midwest Regional Press Secretary. “But, all the ice cream in Illinois can’t hide the fact that voters have rejected Jim Oberweis four times for his long history of deceiving voters and for being out of touch with middle class families.”

The DCCC also used this as an occasion to revisit the fact that the Federal Election Commission fined Jim $21,000 during his 2004 U.S. Senate bid for appearing in an Oberweis Dairy television ad during the campaign. The FEC ruled that it amounted to an illegal corporate contribution.

Treated more or less as a novelty during his successful campaign for Congress, Bill Foster's background as a particle physicist is playing an increasingly important role in his representation of the 14th District. Specifically, Foster's scientific background has strengthened Democratic efforts to drum up federal support for Batavia-based Fermilab, one of the Department of Energy's national science laboratories.

The Daily Herald recognized his support of the facility in an editorial over the weekend:

Foster joined other Illinois members of Congress and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin two weeks ago in proclaiming the U.S. Senate had approved $250 million in funding for energy, helping to assure Fermilab in Batavia could continue its research and retain staffing that was threatened by budget cuts late last year. Now Foster will push the concept among his colleagues in the House in hopes of approving the bill, which earmarks $100 million for the Department of Energy's Office of Science and another $150 million to the National Science Foundation.

Foster himself worked at Fermilab before entering politics. Not only has he championed the lab in the halls of Congress, he also recently spoke with physicists in Batavia, pushing them to more clearly communicate the "health, security, and economic" importance of their projects to lawmakers in Washington.

Beyond the general promise that scientific advancement holds for the entire country, Fermilab is a pressing issue in the 14th District. The lab is planning to lay off some of its 1,900-person workforce due to recent budget cuts.

Jim Oberweis continued his publicity tour yesterday, telling The Courier News editorial board that an image makeover is all he needs to unseat Democratic Rep. Bill Foster in the 14th District this November:

"The opportunity is there," Oberweis said during a visit to The Courier News. "If we can explain to voters where we are on the issues ... I believe I'll win. I do believe my views represent the majority of views in the 14th District. But we didn't do a very good job of communicating our views."

He also lavished blame -- with little evidence -- on Foster, claiming that the Democrats initiated "aggressive attack ads" against him and "used scare tactics" to turn out voters during the special election in March. (Of course, Oberweis himself has no history of using grossly inappropriate or patently false appeals to drum up support.)

He concluded the interview with the understatement of the day:

"I'm an entrepreneur," Oberweis said. "I've started six companies. Not everything I've done has been a success."

For more on Oberweis' "charm" offensive, check out Mose's posts here and here.

Rep. Bill Foster has sponsored new legislation to save the families of active military personnel from added financial hardship. The project is based on the "Illinois Military Family Relief Fund," a successful aid program started in the Prairie State that distributes money to financially strapped families whose breadwinner is stationed overseas. The Illinois program is funded by voluntary contributions from taxpayers on their state tax returns. Foster's plan would offer all Americans a similar option on their federal returns. The money would be distributed by the U.S. Defense Department. The Associated Press reports that the Illinois model has been instrumental in giving military personnel and their families at home financial peace of mind:

The Illinois Military Family Relief Fund provides grants every six months to applicant families whose breadwinner is serving in uniform and face financial hardship, with allocations ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 per year depending on need, officials said.

To date, the fund has distributed $6.2 million to more than 11,000 military families across the state.

If Foster's National Military Family Relief Fund gains momentum it could be implemented as early as next year.

In a sign that perennial GOP candidate Jim Oberweis is intent on running again for the 14th Congressional District, the Beacon News reports that he has been calling supporters -- and reporters -- to ask for their thoughts on "what went wrong" during his failed special election campaign:

Since losing the March special election to now-Rep. Bill Foster, Oberweis has been contacting people involved in the race, people who commented on the race, and people [...] who covered the race. He's been meeting with as many of these people as he can, trying to pick their brains and find out where his campaign went off track.

Such an approach is not completely unexpected. The Beacon News writes that "the relentless negativity of his campaign turned a lot of voters off" and we previously noted that part of Oberweis' new campaign strategy involves an image overhaul. Oberweis' new campaign spokesman says that part of their November strategy will be "letting people know who Jim is."

The problem there is that, after his failed four attempts at public office in Illinois, many voters seem to have a pretty good idea "who Jim is." They just don't like what they see.

That's what House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) reportedly had to say about Jim Oberweis at a recent meeting with Illinois GOP fundraisers.

Capitol Fax's Rich Miller reported this morning that he was told that Boehner "said at a recent event that he wants Oberweis out of the race." Then, posting anonymously in Miller's comments section, his source offered up some more details:

I was Rich’s source at the Boehner event. Boehner stated there was no way to win the district with Oberweis, and that he wanted him out: “unlikable, a terrible candidate.” This was said in the presence of at least 30 Illinois fundraisers. He even stated to a questioner at the event that “we can quote him”, and that he would help get Oberweis out of the race. I believe there is no way Oberweis can win, and if he does not get out, the GOP will lose the seat for a decade. Anyone who gives him 2 cents is just wasting cash. Mr. Oberweis, you can stop calling us. We are not going to provide any further assistance.

Saying that Oberweis is a terrible candidate is one thing. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in the national GOP who thinks otherwise. Saying that you'll help get him out of the race, on the other hand -- now that's news.

Miller called Boehner's office for comment, but there's no indication he's heard anything back yet. I'll be very curious to hear what they ultimately say in response.

(Hat tip: Archpundit)

In the past week, we've reported on the trickle of first quarter fundraising numbers in Illinois' most competitive congressional races. Now that the filing deadline has passed and the Federal Election Commission has had a few days to catch up, all the numbers are available for the period beginning January 17 and ending March 31. We've compiled them in the table below:

It appears that Jim Oberweis is intent on running -- again -- against Rep. Bill Foster in Illinois' 14th Congressional District this November. And judging from an AP interview published today, it looks like Oberweis is getting some image counseling.

Admitting that he may have suffered in the last election because of his negativity, Oberweis has vowed to run a kinder, gentler campaign:

Part of what he's learning, Oberweis said, is that he needs to make sure voters know more about him personally, including that he's a recently remarried father of five and a former kids' chess coach with a "great sense of humor."

That trademark "sense of humor," remember, involved poking fun at Foster's speech cadence by breaking into a mock stutter.

Rich Miller over at Capitol Fax notes that Oberweis "has promised to run a positive campaign just about every time he’s run for office, and every time he ends up going negative and looking goofy." So let's all remember the Ice Cream Man's vow as the race heats up later this summer.

You can hear Rep. Bill Foster delivering the Democrats' Saturday radio address here.

In a Democratic radio address that aired nationally this morning, Rep. Bill Foster touched on a variety of issues. Most notably, he took a cue from Barack Obama and made an economic argument against continuing the Iraq war:

Democrats have a plan to extend essential tax credits that will support the production and use of renewable energy, like ethanol. Unfortunately, President Bush opposes this plan and is instead working to protect taxpayer subsidies for big oil companies. These companies are making record profits — and they don't need handouts from the taxpayer.

Passing this legislation is critical, but achieving energy independence will be virtually impossible if the war in Iraq continues with no end in sight. We have now spent more on the war in Iraq than has been invested on energy research in the history of our country.

Moving our economy forward and making our nation energy independent will be difficult if we continue a war with no idea how to pay for it and no idea how to end it.

As Steve Benen noted after Obama's recent speech on the economy, linking the expense of the war to the country's economic woes is "both good policy and good politics — it helps make these costs personal." I'd have to agree.

You can read Foster's entire address here.