If the election were held tomorrow, which candidate for the 14th Congressional District would you choose?
Democrats:
Bill Foster
Linda Chapa LaVia
John Laesch
Joe Serra
Jotham Stein
Republicans:
J. Dennis Hastert
Kevin Burns
Chris Lauzen
James Oberweis
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31 comments:
Linda Chapa LaVia would make it worth our while. With the Dems in control we could get some things done in Kane.
What do people that know Burns think of him?
Is he endorsed by Dennis Hastert?
Who is going to be his campaign manager?
Someone told me that Hastert is endorsing Jim Oberweis if he does not run.
Who knows?
Chapa LaVia would have to be the Democrat frontrunner.
Burns or Lauzen in the GOP.
Chapa LaVia as a Dem.
They are the only ones with experience.
I hope the candidates running for a seat in Washington support the rights of citizens here to keep out taxes down.
We are for Oberweis.
He will make sure not to get involved with those that choose not to spend their money here.
Unions can hardly make ends meet now. And now I pay taxes so that my competitor in another county gets my elected officials business?
Horrible.
I heard that business people are ready to announce their service on the ACT board of directors.
The McConnaughay people say it is just one person.
From the looks of things today this is not the case.
They are sick of getting fees raised and their work outsourced.
GO CHRIS!!!!!!!
Go Kevin.
Is Burns a Democrat?
He backed Annie Collins over Jack Cunningham.
Looks as if Chairman MacConnughay and Jim Oberwies almost walked together in the parade.
Interesting.
I thought she was for Burns? I like Linda.
I would vote for Chris Lauzen.
Linda Chapa never met a wedge issue that she wouldn't exploit for her own self-serving needs.
LINDA!!!!!
Chris Lauzen.
he doesn't have a chance
Is Denny going to run or not? Why would he take so long to announce?
An outstanding leader is ready to replace Congressman Hastert
By Jack Roeser
Many speculate Dennis Hastert will retire from Congress after this term. But regardless of when that happens, it is important for Republicans to choose a candidate who can be elected in the General Election as well as prevail in the Primary. It is equally important that we have a candidate who can reliably act to reverse the Republican Party’s record of failure in Illinois.
Two candidates who have announced their interest for this position are State Senator Chris Lauzen and Jim Oberweis. I know both of these men very well, and have persuasive reasons why the clear choice for Congress is Chris Lauzen.
First, here is a short historical recap. Hastert was picked by the insiders, Dallas Ingemunson in particular, to replace Congressman John Grotberg on the ballot when he died in office after the March 1986 Primary. There was wide resentment over that political ploy. (Hastert does not mention that he was the machine pick in his autobiography “Speaker”.) Because of this resentment, primarily against the inside political fixers, Hastert had a tough race against Mary Lou Kern, the Democrat coroner, in the General Election.
I took on the task of removing the justifiable rancor over the insider maneuverings to fill that ballot vacancy, and mailed all the precinct committeemen in the 14th Congressional District asking them to get over it, and to vote for a Republican that might be steady, if not very dynamic. Hastert was narrowly elected (52% to 48%) in November 1986, and after that we had a good personal relationship for some years.
However, it eventually became apparent that Hastert remained in thrall to the dominant Republican office holders – primarily Ingemunson and his pals.
The first major disappointment was Hastert’s complicity in joining with Bob Kjellander, the Illinois Republican National Committeeman, in a coup to depose then-GOP State Chairman, Gary MacDougal in late 2002. Gary had brought his impeccable reputation to the rescue of the Illinois GOP’s deteriorating reputation as scandals and corruption spread over the hierarchy, eventually including former Governor George Ryan.
There were many other soiled players – some criminal, some unethical, some just passive enablers of the political bloodsuckers. Several were tried and convicted by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the figure cleaning out the grafters in both Parties in Illinois. That’s a process that of course continues to this day.
Hastert joined with and enabled all those insiders who collectively destroyed the Republican Party in Illinois. Other embarrassments followed under Hastert’s watch, including the Abramoff lobbyist scandal, the House intern debacle involving Mark Foley that was so badly handled, and the infiltration of homosexual staffers into the Speaker’s office and political operation. In fact Congress’ own investigators pointed to the “willful ignorance” on the part of Hastert and his underlings when it came to neglecting their duty to protect the children placed in their care from homosexual predators like Mark Foley.
Then there is Hastert’s refusal to see the conflict of interest between Kjellander’s position as National Committeeman and his receipt of huge commissions for brokering Democrat deals. After a few inadequate protestations about Kjellander’s activities from some in Hastert’s camp, Kjellander today still retains his top title in our State Party. Hastert himself has never publicly called for Kjellander’s resignation.
In summation, Hastert remains today a core figure among Illinois’ discredited old guard. Our hopes that he would mature as a quiet “good guy” were soon dashed, as his power and influence were largely squandered advancing the wrong people. Hastert presided as Speaker of the House over a Congress that spent money wildly on the pet projects of many Congressmen. In one instance, Hastert’s own personal real estate investment appears to have benefited from a federal highway project for the western suburbs sought while he was Speaker.
Hastert became Speaker four years after the historic Republican Revolution of 1994. Denny was handed a very comfortable Republican majority to lead in Congress. Sadly, Hastert’s tenure as Speaker was marked by a steady squandering of that political capital until Republicans finally lost control of the House last year.
The candidate to replace Hastert must be someone who can be counted on to act like a real Republican in Washington, D.C., while also providing leadership to root out the corruption in Illinois.
Senator Chris Lauzen was among the “Fabulous Five” elected in the Republican sweep in 1994. Lauzen was elected that year along with State Senator Peter Fitzgerald, who would later of course become a U.S. Senator. It was Peter who had the courage to give us U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald (no relation) – a move which Hastert and his pals wanted desperately to prevent, and which once done, they refused to forgive.
The maneuverings from Hastert’s circle to get rid of both Fitzgeralds speaks loudly against Hastert and describes just how extensive the web of political corruption is in Illinois.
Chris Lauzen has consistently stood against the corruption and withstood past attempts by Governor George Ryan to defeat him. Today, Lauzen is a rare specimen of a leader who opposes Illinois’ debilitating corruption, while also holding Republican Platform values on high. I supported Chris from the beginning, and continue to do so.
You may remember that I supported Jim Oberweis for Governor last year and was the largest outside contributor to his campaign, to the tune of approximately $500,000. Oberweis was the best candidate among an untried lot last year. However, this time there is a superior candidate on the field, and that is Senator Lauzen.
When Oberweis ran for Governor he was running against weak or corrupt candidates. Now the bar has been raised with the entry of a proven leader like Lauzen who has impeccable conservative Republican credentials.
Oberweis has now run and failed in three statewide campaigns, back-to-back. Oberweis was denied victory in the Primary last year and the nomination went to the unelectable Topinka, thanks in part to the refusal of Bill Brady to do the right thing and drop out of the race. Brady wasn’t running a serious statewide campaign (no mail, television or radio in big portions of the state) and had no chance of winning. At some point in the campaign, that fact became obvious to all serious observers – and certainly it had to have been recognized by Brady himself. However, Brady stayed in the race, where he showed a willingness to attack anyone but the front-running Topinka (something truly unheard of). Brady was able to split-off just enough of the conservative base to hand the nomination to the liberal Topinka.
Those were tragic circumstances with a disastrous result. While Oberweis and all Republicans were dealt a bad hand last year, it doesn’t change the fact that Jim should do the right thing and remain on the sidelines in a support role this time.
Jim of all people should be loath to see a shameful historical event repeat itself. But it will. If Lauzen and Oberweis both remain in the race, the Hastert designee will almost certainly walk away with the nomination. And just like with Topinka last year – that means our Party keeps clinging to the past.
My hope is that Oberweis will consider using his money to help other good Republicans, and not just himself – at least for the foreseeable short term. The last thing Jim should want to become is the Bill Brady of this Congressional race – the spoiler who prevents an independent conservative from winning.
Oberweis had the best case for nomination last year, but this time it’s Lauzen who is clearly the superior choice. Oberweis has had three strikes for statewide office. He should now be ruled out – at least when it comes to the race to replace Hastert in Congress.
Lauzen is a proven winner of many tough contests, and he serves his constituents with a commitment and passion that is now all too rare in Illinois. It’s time to unite behind the proven performer.
Posted July 16, 2007.
That's a shame Tim Schmitz is not running for Congress, he could have been a great Congressman
Lauzen is the man!
And that's a great piece by Jack Roeser at www.familytaxpayers.net
I would like to see Lauzen run whether or not Denny decides to sit on his butt for another 2 years or not. Lauzen could beat Hastert in a primary. I think most people are pretty sick of Denny's do-nothingness and padding his own pockets on land deals, etc.
Also, young boys in Washington and Illinois will be much safer when Hastert's people are out of the picture. Go back and read about the Mark Foley disaster from last fall if that sounds harsh.
I would support John Laesch. He would represent the working people of the district.
I hope Hastert does the right thing by taking all the money he's earned with Dallas Ingemunson and his failed record, and just goes away asap.
Parents with sons serving as interns in D.C. will also sleep a lot better once this lazy do-nothing, and all his gay staffers are gone.
Now Hastert may be pushing a staffer?
Mike Stokke? Who is this?
He doesn't live in the district.
Forget about it.
Yeah, Mike Stokke has always lived in Bloomington, gotta be 100 miles at least out of the district.
Stokke became part of the problem years ago. He's a former chief of staff to Lee Daniels, then went to work for Hastert where he helped Denny pee away the Republican Revolution. Stokke was also in the middle of the Mark Foley intern disaster, and was one of the main figures who was taken to task for not doing his job by investigators.
I say bring on Stokke and let Lauzen beat him. But my guess is Hastert decides to run again just to spite all the people hungry for new blood.
If Hastert does run, Lauzen should still run in the primary. If we don't beat Denny, the Dems will. He's already stayed too long.
Joe Serra... The only honest candidate who isn't a leftwing nut and is a moderate Dem. Lauzen is a nut and the Republican PArty wants him to go away. Oberweis is a nut and the Republican Party wants him to go away. Burns is only interested in himself and IS a republican but ususally goes back and forth on what he is. Chapa LaVia is a liar and useless and is in the pocket of Weisner or visa versa. Laesch is in LaLa Land and has lost a lot of his support.
Joe Serra is the logical choice - He's from here, he has a large family here. He's a moderate, and he's for US.
Joe Serra? I thought he was running for State Representative?
He'd be good in either position. He's really good. Really likeable and not afraid to speak the truth.
Look around for him.
Denny will make an announcement on August 17 at 10:30 AM at the Courthouse steps in Yorkville.
Be there for the results
Lauzen's the one. All the incompetent, lying players from the past hate him, and that's a great thing. He's the most like Peter Fitzgerald.
Lauzen wins this thing hands down. He could beat Hastert if necessary.
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