Candidates for 44th House seat clash over campaign ads

In a heated rematch for the 44th state House District seat, state Rep. Fred Crespo and Republican rival Ramiro Juarez are trading barbs over their campaign advertising.

Crespo's bid for a fifth term has the fundraising advantage, with $97,384 in cash on hand as of late September. The state Democratic Party has dived into the fray, too, sending mailers associating his opponent with supporters of cuts to schools and Social Security.

Calling himself a moderate, Juarez said he would have no control over the federally run Social Security program and, as an elementary school teacher from Streamwood, would not support education cuts. Juarez also said the mailers appear to show he has a voting record when he has never held political office.

"I don't have the money to respond to all that," said Juarez, whose campaign posted $3,775 in cash remaining as of Sept. 30. "I almost don't feel it's necessary to respond because they're really off-the-wall accusations."

Juarez's camp, instead, has taken an unusual approach: producing a mock, 12-page newspaper, hand-delivered to voters.

The "Edge City Review" criticizes Crespo's support of tax breaks for businesses and depicts the Hoffman Estates Democrat as a close ally of House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Inside, however, what looks like a political ad reads "Re-elect Crespo" with the tag line: "lowering property taxes, balanced budgets, leading ethics reforms." Juarez said the pseudo ad was meant to stand in contrast with the rest of the piece.

"You think twice," Juarez said. "Has he really been doing those things?"

While it looks very much like a newspaper, even including letters to the editor, the Edge City Review is clearly a product of the campaign, he said, with a disclaimer running at the bottom of page 5. The disclaimer is in small print, however, and two reporters looking for it failed to notice it until Juarez pointed it out.

"There isn't a newspaper out there that would focus so much on one person," Juarez said. Every story in it has some tie to Crespo.

Although Crespo said he hasn't seen it, his campaign manager Steve Caramelli called the literature deceptive and made to look balanced when it isn't.

"That's just insulting the voter," Crespo said.

Both sides have tried to label the other as out-of-touch with residents.

Crespo distanced himself from Madigan, saying there's a "huge difference" between suburban and Chicago lawmakers. Crespo cited, among other cases, his opposition to Madigan's call last year for shifting the cost of teachers' pensions to local districts.

In the November 2012 election, Crespo handily defeated Juarez, who says he has a more refined message and reached more voters this time around.

"The little games are just par for the course," Crespo said of pro-Juarez tactics in their second contest. "This time it was a little over the top."

The 44th District includes parts of Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg.