14th Congressional District starting from scratch

For 21 years, residents of Illinois' 14th Congressional District had a pat answer for the question of who would represent them on Capitol Hill.

Every two years, residents of the far West suburban district would send Republican Dennis Hastert to Washington. He was a guy voters knew -- laid-back Denny, the former Yorkville high school wrestling coach, Hastert, in turn, would bring back as much federal money and attention as his clout would allow.

For more than seven of those 21 years, Hastert's clout was nearly off the chart. As Speaker of the House, he was second only to the vice president in succession to the Oval Office. Hastert delivered millions of dollars for projects, notably transportation, not only within his district but elsewhere in Illinois.

Now Hastert is gone. He lost his Speaker's post to Nancy Pelosi when Democrats took control of the House in 2006. On Nov. 26 he resigned, a full year before his term expired.

On Feb. 5, 14th District voters will select Republican and Democratic nominees to run in the November general election. Even before November, these same voters will choose Hastert's immediate successor. A March 8 special election will determine who takes his seat until the general election.

It's safe to say that filling his seat will not be the same as matching his influence -- at least not anytime soon.

"I think it's going to be a very long wait," said DePaul political science professor J. Harry Wray, asked when 14th District residents might again enjoy the influence they've had recently. To an extent, Wray said, newcomers must simply wait their turn.

Consider freshman U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Wheaton Republican who succeeded the late, legendary Henry Hyde in the 6th Congressional District.

When a Daily Herald reporter visited Washington three months ago to report on Roskam's first year in office, she found his days packed with meetings; his office tucked away on a fifth floor; his chances to address the full House limited. He got a warning bell in the middle of a brief floor speech about the emerald ash borer.

"You have to earn the right to be heard," Roskam said.

The questions for voters on Feb. 5 and March 8 are: Whose voice do they want to send to Washington to try to earn that right? What will Hastert's successor bring to the job? And will he (all the candidates are men) develop the stature that leads him to eventually wield influence for this large district, which stretches nearly to the Mississippi River on the West?

Wray said there's no magic formula by which voters can tell which candidate might rise in influence more quickly than others.

"Part of it depends on who is an astute politician and who is not," Wray said. "There are a lot of people who were around as long as Denny Hastert who are not nearly as influential as he was."

Even the candidates themselves -- four Democrats and three Republicans -- know that none of them will take the nation's capital by storm.

During a Thursday debate, each Democratic hopeful was asked which committee assignments he would seek. The candidates mentioned such lofty perches as Appropriations and Ways and Means panels before quickly adding choices they deemed more achievable.

So, if Hastert's successor won't be standing in front of the House chamber and rubbing shoulders with the president, what will that person take to Washington?

Republican primary voters will opt for one of two figures reasonably well known outside the district: Chris Lauzen and Jim Oberweis.

Lauzen, an eight-term state senator from Aurora, is campaigning on his constituent service, legislative savvy and the notion that he's more in touch with ordinary people than the wealthy Oberweis.

Illinoisans outside the district know Oberweis as the man behind the ice cream/dairy stores that dot the suburbs. They know him, too, as previous candidate, one who has made unsuccessful runs in recent years for gubernatorial and U.S. Senate nominations.

Oberweis, of Sugar Grove, is building his campaign on free-trade, low-tax principles and his private-sector job creation in his dairy and a fund management firm he founded.

Deep issue differences between the two Republicans are hard to find. For instance, seeking to draw a distinction, Lauzen cites a gentler tone in discussing immigration issues.

Chances are that few residents beyond the 14th District know much about any of the Democratic hopefuls: Bill Foster, John Laesch, Joe Serra and Jotham Stein.

Laesch, a union carpenter from Newark, may have the best name recognition by virtue of his 2006 run against Hastert. He lost. But he drew 40 percent of the vote, more than observers expected and more than any other recent Hastert opponent.

Laesch is the populist of the field. A former military intelligence analyst, he calls for universal health care and says all U.S. trade agreements must include tough clauses compelling trade partners to respect workers' rights in their own countries.

Foster, of Geneva, was a longtime Fermilab scientist who built a successful theater-lighting business. Foster tries to connect with economically insecure voters by stressing that he has found ways to keep jobs in the United States instead of shipping them abroad.

Stein, a St. Charles attorney, tells voters that he is the most electable of the Democrats -- that his emphasis on job creation appeals to Republicans and independents and that he favors more realistic trade policies than Laesch and a more realistic Iraq policy than Foster.

Until last week, Serra has been largely invisible on the campaign trail. He surfaced Wednesday, though, for a "Chicago Tonight" appearance and Thursday for a debate at Aurora University.

Asked Thursday about his failure to show at earlier events, Serra drew appreciative laughs from the audience when he said, "I've got a job to go to and a family to feed."

Serra quickly set about, though, to establish his moderate bona fides. He said getting U.S. forces the funding they need would be a priority. He noted that he strongly backs the right to keep and bear arms as well as affirmative action.

Republicans may argue the point, but Wray said the GOP-leaning 14th District might regain a measure of influence sooner by sending a Democrat to a chamber now controlled by Democrats.

"If a Democrat is elected in a marginal district like that, the other Democrats may try to confer favors on that person, who can say, 'I'm hanging on by my fingernails here; how can you help me?' "