Progress Illinois

Today, Debbie Halvorson's 11th District congressional campaign released her first paid television advertisement.  While GOP candidate Marty Ozinga and the independent expenditure arm of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have both run ads on cable channels in the district, this is the first TV spot to run on the local network stations.  The Daily Journal reports that this "move will put the Halvorson ad in more than 80 percent of the district."

Watch the ad below: 

On Thursday, August 7, when the news surfaced that 11th District Democratic congressional candidate Debbie Halvorson's stepson, Jay Bush, had been seriously in injured while serving in Afghanistan, Marty Ozinga's GOP campaign told reporters it would suspend attacks on their opponent, though they didn't specify a timeframe.  The following Tuesday, while Halvorson was visiting Bush at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C, the Ozinga camp put out a robocall in the district attacking her (which you can listen to here).   VoteVets.org -- a political advocacy organization headed by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- subsequently put out a statement from chairman Jon Soltz, who blasted the robocall as "one of the most tactless moves I've ever seen in politics."

Well, today Ozinga received some additional criticism from Jim Wasser, Jeff Bruno, Glen Becker, and Mervin Gossman -- all veterans who reside in the 11th District.  In a letter sent to Ozinga via email, the group asserted that his "personal attacks against Debbie last week were some of the most disrespectful and tasteless political tactics imaginable."  They added that Halvorson "deserved a chance to deal with this family emergency without your underhanded personal attacks."  Click the image below to read the full letter.

And one more thing ...

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Here's an interesting twist to our story surrounding Marty Ozinga's robocall attack on Debbie Halvorson yesterday.  It turns out that when the news surfaced last Thursday that Halvorson's stepson had been injured while serving in Afghanistan, the Ozinga campaign told the Daily Journal that they would be suspending their criticism of their Democratic opponent:

The campaign of Republican congressional candidate Martin Ozinga III of Homer Glen today suspended all criticisms of Halvorson, campaign manager Andy Sere said. Ozinga is facing Halvorson in the 11th Congressional District race to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Halvorson and her family," Sere said in a statement issued today. "We have the utmost respect for Mr. Bush's service to our country and we hope for his speedy recovery."

Now obviously the Ozinga campaign did not specify exactly how long they intended to lay off.  Nonetheless, on Tuesday -- as Halvorson visited her stepson at Walter Reed Hospital -- Ozinga distributed a robocall attacking her.  

Late last night, we reported that 11th District GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga put out a robocall attacking his Democratic opponent Debbie Halvorson at the same time she was visiting her stepson, Jay Bush, at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.  Bush was flown there after being seriously injured while serving in Afghanistan.

Today, VoteVets.org -- a political advocacy organization headed by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- put out the following response:

“This is one of the most tactless moves I’ve ever seen in politics,” said Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org.  “The pain and anxiousness that family members feel when their loved one is injured, wounded, or lost in combat cannot be overstated.  At times like these, military families deserve some time and space, even if they are candidates for office.  It wouldn’t kill Ozinga to show some class by wishing Ms. Halvorson and her stepson well, and laying off the attacks for a couple of days.  It’s just a simple sign of respect to do so when your opponent is going through a time like this.” [...]

“We obviously wish Captain Bush a speedy recovery, and we thank him for his sacrifice to our nation and for our security.  And, our thoughts are with Ms. Halvorson and her husband as they tend to their son,” added Soltz.  “I only wish Marty Ozinga would have some class and show the same respect to our troops and military families.”

This entry was originally posted on August 12 at 11:28pm.

Last Friday, we learned that State Sen. and Democratic congressional candidate Debbie Halvorson's stepson, Jay Bush, was seriously injured while serving in Afghanistan.  According to an account in the State-Journal Register today, Bush "had been riding in a truck that came under fire at night ... Ordered to evacuate, Bush jumped out of the side of the truck. He did not realize the vehicle was parked on a bridge, so he fell 25 feet, landing on rocks."  The Register also reported that Halvorson and her husband were visiting Bush at Walter Reed Hospital in D.C., where he was flown over the weekend.  Before heading East, Halvorson said that Bush had "broke his back, and they think his neck."

If you're the GOP candidate in the 11th District race, common sense should instruct you to lay off your opponent until she's gotten through this ordeal.

Well, think again.  At least if you're Marty Ozinga.  

That's right.  While Halvorson is in Washington dealing with a family emergency, the Ozinga campaign has apparently put out a robocall attacking her.  We have it on good authority from a contact in the field that the call hit district residents' phones earlier today.

Pretty despicable when you think about it.  Especially from a guy who claims he "not a politician." To the contrary, it looks like politics are foremost in his mind.

But we already had an inkling that Ozinga lacks a certain ... decency. 

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During a trip to Kuwait and Germany last week, Rep. Phil Hare runs into State Sen. Debbie Halvorson's stepson, who was injured while serving in Afghanistan:

At Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, he encountered an Army captain who asked Hare if he is a congressman.

“I said I am,” Hare said Monday at a state Capitol news conference. “I thought, ‘Uh oh, here we go.’ He said, ‘Well, my stepmother’s running for Congress in Illinois. Debbie Halvorson.’”

It turned out the Army captain was Jay Bush. Bush’s father, Jim, is married to Halvorson, a Crete Democrat who is the Illinois Senate majority leader.

Jay Bush, serving in Afghanistan, had been riding in a truck that came under fire at night, according to Hare. Ordered to evacuate, Bush jumped out of the side of the truck. He did not realize the vehicle was parked on a bridge, so he fell 25 feet, landing on rocks and injuring his spine.

“He is a wonderful young man,” Hare said. “And God must have been looking out for him because to fall that far and have something like that happen and be able to probably, in all likelihood, be able to walk and use his arms and legs again, that will be a wonderful day for him.”

When Hare returned to the United States Thursday, he found a message on his cell phone from Halvorson. She was asking him to inquire about her stepson, if possible, and to contact Jim Bush with any information.

Hare called the elder Bush, told him he’d just seen Jay 12 hours earlier and reported that he was in good spirits.

According to the Swing State Project, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has bought $39,000 worth of TV advertising in the 11th District in support of Debbie Halvorson. Here's the script:

ANNOUNCER: "The Middle Class is getting squeezed. Debbie Halvorson knows we're working harder and getting less, that's why she led the fight to lower prescription drug costs for Illinois seniors, and Halvorson helped give thousands of children and working families affordable health insurance. Now she wants to take our fight to Congress. She'll take on George Bush's Policies. And bring common sense back to our government. Debbie Halvorson, a fighter for us. The DCCC is responsible for the content of this advertisement."

We'll have the video when it becomes available.

UPDATE: Here's the video, via Capitol Fax:

A few weeks ago, Progress Illinois drew attention to 11th District GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga's misguided view that there are "very few people nowadays that have no health service at all." Ozinga's callous assessment of the U.S. health care crisis was based on the idea that anyone who can drag themselves to the emergency room will get some type of care.

Criticism of the remark included a pointed column from the Southtown Star's Kristen McQueary, who asked how Ozinga's apparent disregard for the uninsured jived with his self-declared Christian values. In a Star article published today, Ozinga's Democratic opponent, State Senator Debbie Halvorson, responded directly to the remark as well: "When I heard that, I was appalled. ... It proves how out of touch he is."

As detailed in the article, Halvorson grew up uninsured and watched her own mother suffer the indignities faced by Americans who can't afford health coverage. She recently highlighted her health care credentials before the Illinois Nurses Association in Kankakee:

According to her campaign, while in the state Senate, Halvorson worked to provide health insurance to uninsured children and veterans, create a first-in-the-nation program to provide affordable prescription drugs to seniors and the disabled, and require insurance companies to cover preventive care screenings like mammograms.

At the event in Kankakee, Halvorson laid out proposals to help reduce costs and improve health care including: allowing small businesses to bargain collectively to reduce health insurance premiums; expanding funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program [SCHIP]; increasing funding for preventive care and screenings; ensuring that mental health ailments have the same coverage as physical ailments; and allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for prescription drugs.

Among the issues named by Halvorson, SCHIP is one that voters will want to look at closely in the run up to the election. On his website, Ozinga comes out forcefully against government involvement in providing health insurance. But state health care programs tend to be popular with voters, especially when that coverage is going to uninsured kids.

Over the weekend, the Tribune offered a fairly helpful run-down of an issue that has left many Democrats scratching their heads in recent weeks -- the public disagreement between Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and State Sen. Debbie Halvorson over the proposed third airport in Chicago's south suburbs. While the article didn't delve deep into all the recent accusations, it did explain the basic disagreement:

Halvorson and Jackson agree a south suburban airport would be an economic engine for the region. But Jackson wants mayors from Cook, Will and Kankakee Counties to sit on an airport board. Halvorson trumpets "local control," shunning all Cook County representation.

More importantly, the Tribune reports on how Halvorson's GOP congressional opponent, Marty Ozinga, has been milking the intra-party spat: "trying to be all things to all sides":

[Ozinga] has seized on the conflict and appears to be trying to be all things to all sides. Ozinga said Friday he favors a revised version of Halvorson's airport plan and opposes Jackson's version, but also pushed Jackson's allegations about Rezko.

"When fellow Democrats are making serious allegations that Halvorson did Rezko's bidding, those allegations need to be taken seriously," Ozinga said.

Ozinga's fellow Republicans say they developed Halvorson's airport legislation, which is stalled in the House.

"I've spoken with [Ozinga's] office and basically outlined our process from June of '05 to the present, as I understand it, to make sure he's aware of how the legislation was developed," said Jim Roolf, who is a Republican and chairs the Will County Center for Economic Development business labor coalition.

Eleventh district congressional candidate Debbie Halvorson garnered an exciting endorsement today from J Street -- the first-ever political action committee dedicated to promoting federal candidates who support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Illinois House majority leader was one of seven candidates selected:

Halvorson believes that strong U.S. leadership is necessary to bring about an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “so that other nations see us both as a leader and a partner,” and has been dismayed by current US saber rattling on Iran, favoring a renewed attempt at tough diplomatic engagement with Iran.

To learn more about J Street, check out profiles here, here and here.