Congress, 14th District: Foster

In the major parties, residents of the 14th Congressional District have two strong-willed, decent human beings that want to represent them in Congress.

In just his first term, incumbent Bill Foster says he already has crossed swords with his Democratic brethren, namely voting against every budget offered by his party because of what he sees as exorbitant deficit spending. He also sided with the GOP on cap-and-trade limits on carbon emissions. Foster made a quick impact on Congress, casting the deciding vote to keep an ethics bill alive on the day he was sworn in just three days after winning a special election March 8, 2008. Yes, Foster voted for health-care reform and the massive stimulus package, but his centrist leaning and his willingness to listen to all sides of a question seem to be the right mix for the district

Republican state Sen. Randy Hultgren, on the minority side in Springfield, stresses that Congress has not reversed the recession as quickly as we all wanted and calls for Washington to operate in a more bipartisan way,

Dan Kairis of the Green Party and Libertarian write-in Doug Marks also are running, but Foster has demonstrated an ability to challenge Democrats, react to local concerns and keep his eyes constantly focused on Main Street. He is endorsed.