"Why not. The Republican Party in Illinois is in shambles. What have they got to lose?"
Dittos on that. They are about to write off this race anyway.
Ditka has name ID. Oberweis has money but no name ID. Any other candidate they pick will lose in obscurity...
Vet Ditka for brains, political spine, and for being able to articulate a GOP political position, then get him in the ring. He's likely more qualified than some of the loser senators in there (Murray the dimbulb, Shrillary, Barb check bouncer Boxer, KKK Byrd the Senile).
And I cant believe he's as bad a RINO as Arnie S. is, another case of the party getting "saved" by a celebrity candidate. Anyone who enjoys a big cigar and spent his life ordering 300 lb men around cant be *that* wussy. :-)
I seriously doubt Ditka is a RINO.
If nothing else, he has donated over $17,000 to Republican campaigns in the past 15 years, including $1500 to Bush/Cheney '04.
The real question is if he is willing to take a massive pay cut.
Ditka would probably be the only Republican who could pull any votes out of the Chicago area. From what I hear from some of my Illinois co-workers from downstate is that are just waiting for a "non-democratic" savior to come along and deliver them from the clutches of the "evil Chicago cabal".