Free Republic

Conservative Elgin state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger will drop out of the Republican governor’s race today to become the running mate of moderate Ron Gidwitz in an attempt to salvage both men’s statewide hopes next year. The move to form a balanced ideological team comes a week after state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka entered the GOP governor primary amid a state party poll that showed her with a wide lead with many voters still undecided. While Gidwitz and Rauschenberger had been talking prior to that, the meeting helped speed up their decision to join forces after perceiving the party establishment was...

<p>A pair of controversial new campaign ads from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis has enraged immigrant rights advocates, who contend the message decrying illegal immigration is racist and relies on misleading data.</p> <p>In the spots, which began running on television stations statewide this week, Oberweis warns that the nation is being overrun by illegal immigrants.</p>