Hastert's final act disappointing
To the editor: Former Congressman Dennis Hastert has really disappointed me, and perhaps other 14th Congressional District voters, these past few months.
Hastert was elected to work for Illinois and the district he represents for two years. When the Democrats took control of Congress, Hastert announced that he would not seek re-election in 2008.
Three Republican candidates, Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, State Sen.Chris Lauzen and businessman Jim Oberweis, filed petitions to be on the February primary ballot with the winner representing the Republican party in November.
Then Hastert did the most unconscionable act in his terms of office. He quit before his term was completed and left a complete void in the district.
With Hastert's retiring, every candidate, Republican and Democrat, who wants to be our next congressman must enter and win four elections.
On Feb. 5, voters will vote on which candidate in each party will move to the November general election, which will determine who serves the next full term.
But they'll also be voting on who in each party will move on to the March 8 special election to determine who will complete Hastert's current term.
The costs for these elections will cost each candidate upward of a million dollars.
Hastert has been a very powerful congressman and worked for the best interests in his district. But this past week, he did something that is not the best interest of this district -- endorsed Oberweis to replace him.
This happened before any of the Republican candidates even had one debate.
How can the Republicans in the 14th Congressional District really know who to vote for without any meaningful debates?
Because Hastert did not wait until the primary elections, his endorsement has forced one candidate to withdraw and the other candidate may not be able to raise the needed money to compete.
Republican voters no longer have the opportunity to listen to the candidates debating each other and thereby being able to intelligently vote for Hastert's replacement.
Hastert's final act was disappointing.
Jack McCabe
Batavia