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Oberweis found wintering in Florida a week ahead of Tuesday's primary AURORA - Just days before the election NBC 5's Mary Ann Ahern found U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis relaxing ... in sunny Florida. We're only one week away from the Illinois primary, but GOP U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis is already looking ahead to November.NBC 5 has learned that Oberweis flew out of Illinois Saturday, and is at his million-dollar Bonita Beach Florida condo until the end of the week.When reached by phone, Oberweis would not confirm his whereabouts, and when he was repeatedly asked whether he's in Illinois, he...

Illinois' Republican chairman acknowledged Sunday that his party's often-bitter 2006 primary for governor "was not constructive" in helping nominee Judy Baar Topinka challenge wounded Democrat Rod Blagojevich's bid for a second term. Andy McKenna also criticized Democrats in the legislature for being "small-minded" by helping push legislation that would let primary voters rather than party officials decide the Republicans' top leaders. Speaking on WGN-AM 720, McKenna said Republican leaders and donors don't want to see a repeat of the four-way 2006 GOP primary for governor that he contended produced a weakened Topinka who was unable to challenge a better-funded Blagojevich...

Four years ago Obama was in a tight race with a Republican opponent--Jack Ryan. Wikipedia records what happpened. ...Ryan married actress Jeri Ryan in 1991; together they have a son, Alex Ryan. They divorced in 1999 in California, and the records of the divorce were sealed at their mutual request. Five years later, when Ryan's Senate campaign began, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have the records released. On March 3, 2004, several of Ryan's GOP primary opponents urged release of the records.Both Ryan and his wife agreed to make their divorce records public,...

So you may have received a call from Jim Oberweis recently. No, not one of those annoying robocalls that descended on the 14th Congressional District like a swarm of angry, negative bees during the final weeks of the primary and special-election campaigns. I mean something quite a bit more personal. 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 (like yours truly) who covered the race. He's been meeting with as many of these people as he can, trying to pick their...

Dairy magnate Jim Oberweis (R) is trying to soften his image in suburban Chicago, according to local media reports, going so far as to cold-call reporters in search of why he lost ex-Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R) seat in a March special election.

Democrat Bill Foster won the Illinois House seat occupied for more than two decades by former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, who retired before the end of his term. The result shows that Democrats not only have political enthusiasm on their side but that Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who endorsed Mr. Foster, is a campaign asset down ballot, at least in his home state. ...To his credit, Mr. Oberweis did talk about lower taxes, smaller government and other Republican themes. But as in his past campaigns, the issue he hit hardest was illegal immigration. One of his infamous Senate ads featured...

Aside the most obvious case -- his own -- John McCain cited two recent examples of GOP candidates taking a hard-line on immigration to no avail (And note the elbow thrown at a certain former colleague who came after McCain in the primary). My colleague Josh Kraushaar writes up McCain's comments: On NPR’s “Morning Edition” today, John McCain suggested that strong anti-immigrant rhetoric contributed to two recent, high-profile GOP Congressional losses – of former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who badly lost to Sen. Bob Casey in 2006, and Jim Oberweis, who lost the heavily Republican seat of former House Speaker...

(The Politico) "The hot-button issue of immigration doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon – at least not in Republican circles. On NPR’s “Morning Edition” today, John McCain suggested that strong anti-immigrant rhetoric contributed to two recent, high-profile GOP Congressional losses – of former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who badly lost to Sen. Bob Casey in 2006, and Jim Oberweis, who lost the heavily Republican seat of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert this month in a special election.

Dairy magnate Jim Oberweis was recovering from the flu yesterday when I called. And he sounded a wee bit testy. Soundly defeated Saturday in a special election in the 14th Congressional District, the Republican Oberweis is vowing to fight on in the upcoming November rematch against just-sworn-in Democratic Congressman Bill Foster. Why did he lose? "I have some theories, but I'm keeping them to myself," Oberweis said. The media, he argued, didn't help. "You guys gave him [Foster] pretty much a free ride." There was a time in Illinois when Republicans roamed the earth. They were once mighty. They were...

Saturday's special election has left area Republicans stunned, and some of them are directing their ire at Jim Oberweis and his campaign. Democrat Bill Foster defeated Oberweis by roughly 5,000 votes Saturday to become the new congressman in the 14th District. That seat has only been held by a Democrat once, immediately after Watergate, and has been in the hands of retired Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert for the past 21 years. The 14th District has long been considered a Republican stronghold. So how did Foster, a scientist and businessman from Geneva, muster enough votes to win?

Democrat Bill Foster’s victory over Republican Jim Oberweis in Saturday’s special election in Illinois is evidence of the clamor for change in the countryside? Perhaps. Are exurban Chicagoans disgusted with Washington? Yes, they are. But there were some uniquely local factors that were more decisive. This was Oberweis’ fourth run for high office since 2002. Over the past six years, he has turned in more stale, lackluster, straight-to-video performances than Matthew McConaughey. The dairy magnate’s gaffe-filled campaigns have demonstrated one thing clearly: he has exponentially more personal wealth than good sense. He burst onto the scene in 2002 running for...

A longtime Republican district fell to the Democrats Saturday when a wealthy businessman and scientist snatched former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional seat in a closely watched special election. Democrat Bill Foster won 52 percent of the vote compared to 48 percent for Republican Jim Oberweis. With 565 of 568 precincts reporting, Foster had 51,140 votes to Oberweis' 46,270.

FOR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS - 14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT (Vote for 1) Votes % of Votes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Oberweis 4332 52.86% Bill Foster 3798 46.35%

Voters in former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's district will choose a new congressman in a special election Saturday, but there's one thing they won't replace: his clout. Hastert funneled millions of dollars to the district during his 21 years in Washington, but his retirement means his seat will go to either Democrat Bill Foster or Republican Jim Oberweis _ two wealthy businessmen with no seniority on Capitol Hill. "That's something he (Hastert) had to earn. It will be a learning curve for whoever gets in there," said William Barclay, an alderman in the Chicago suburb of Geneva. Democrats are eager...

Update: Special Election Saturday in the 14th Congressional Race to Replace GOP Former House Speaker Hastert. . . Oberweis vs. Foster Posted by: mcpundit | February 28th, 2008 | Category: HASTERT RACE McPundit Comment: Back in July, we had an exclusive that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was retiring as our source told us his staff had been informed to start looking for jobs; but also in July, Hastert said, “I’m running”. In October, he said he said he didn’t plan to retire; and then SURPRISE, HE WAS JUST KIDDING, he not only announced his retirement but he was also...

You could almost hear the chanting outside the building. “O! Ber! Weis! O! Ber! Weis!” the crowd cheered, as they stood bathed in an intensely bright flood light in the ballroom of the Hampton Inn and Suites in Aurora, waiting for the victory speech. And when Aurora businessman Jim Oberweis took the stage at around 10:15 Tuesday night, he delivered. RELATED STORIES • Illinois Congressional Races Opening with a quip about his three prior failed campaigns – “Boy, winning’s a lot more fun than coming in second, I can tell you that” – Oberweis claimed victory in both the regular...

This is an open thread for Illinois Freepers to talk about the GOP Primary Election today. Can Judy Baar Topinka be stopped?!?!? Stay tuned!

If you want to discover how a perfectly healthy pink state turns into a lasting blue one, look no further than Illinois.For years, Republicans often won statewide and federal elective offices. But thanks to a bungling party "leadership" way out of touch with its constituency, Tuesday's primary election to select a GOP nominee for governor presents voters with indecision, disappointment or disgust. Among the candidates, "I don't know" has made a strong showing.We columnists have raked this field of candidates to the point of tedium, but why not? Why should Republicans be forced to choose among marginal, inexperienced, unqualified or...

March 20, 2006 - Voter turnout Tuesday in Illinois could break an all-time record, a record low. That is because an Election Day snowstorm is headed straight for central Illinois. A non-presidential primary election usually attracts about a third of all of the registered voters in Illinois. Election experts say a central Illinois snowstorm could reduce Tuesday's statewide turnout to less than 25 percent which would be the lowest in many decades. the turnout forecast for Chicago and the collar counties is good, no rain or snow but windy and chilly. City turnout expected in the 38 percent range. but...

Tomorrow is primary day in Illinois and there are three races to watch. The first, and biggest, is the GOP primary for Governor which has essentially boiled down to a two person race between moderate Judy Baar Topinka and conservative Jim Oberweis.Topinka is the only Republican currently holding statewide office (Treasurer) which demonstrates her appeal in a state where the GOP has basically been reduced to a smoldering heap of ruins. However, Topinka's longevity also has a downside; she has ties to the lowly-regarded Illinois political establishment and she served with former Governor George Ryan - who sits awaiting...