Oberweis asks opponent to join him on anti-tax pledge

Fresh off his primary victory and just a month away from a special general election, congressional hopeful Jim Oberweis called on his Democratic opponent to join him in signing an anti-tax increase pledge.

Oberweis, a dairy magnate from Sugar Grove, held a news conference Wednesday to paint Bill Foster as a proponent of big government and high taxes.

"As I've made clear in my campaign, I believe Washington taxes too much, spends too much, regulates too much, and tells us what to do too much," Oberweis said. "My opponent does not agree."

Oberweis asked Foster to follow his example by committing to the Americans for Tax Reform's "taxpayer protection pledge." The Washington-based group is lead by GOP policy strategist Grover Norquist.

Foster, a scientist and businessman from Geneva, has campaigned as a "Paul Simon Democrat" dedicated to cutting wasteful spending.

"Bill Foster is committed to middle-class tax relief and strengthening Illinois' economy," said Andrew Dupuy, Foster's campaign spokesman. "Mr. Oberweis is clearly more interested in silly games and politics as usual. If he were serious about the issues, he would take a pledge to bring home our troops in Iraq safely and responsibly."

Oberweis earned 56 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary, defeating runner-up Chris Lauzen, a state senator from Aurora. Oberweis pummeled Lauzen in eight of the 14th Congressional District's nine jurisdictions; Lauzen emerged victorious only in the city of Aurora, which runs its own election commission.

The two Republicans engaged in a contentious race fraught with negative campaigning, particularly after retired U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert backed Oberweis for his seat.

Oberweis said he expected the race against Foster to be more congenial.

"Hopefully the focus will be on the issues," Oberweis said.

Even as Oberweis maintained a large lead late Tuesday, Lauzen remained optimistic and described the battle as a David-versus-Goliath campaign in which he expected to emerge victorious despite Oberweis' huge campaign war chest and Hastert's endorsement.

Lauzen conceded to Oberweis late Tuesday, and by early Wednesday afternoon was re-evaluating his David and Goliath analogy.

"I certainly was mistaken," Lauzen said Wednesday in a brief phone interview from his campaign headquarters in Aurora.

He added that he is unsure what he'll do next.

"I'm just so proud of our thousands of volunteers," he said.

Oberweis, who ran unsuccessfully in Republican primaries for Illinois governor and U.S. Senate on three separate occasions, empathized with Lauzen.

"I've come in second three times before and I know that's no fun and it's very hard to accept the decisions of voters," Oberweis said.