Congressional hopeful talks to high school classes

The Mundelein High School students Congressional candidate Steve Greenberg met with Monday are too young to vote, but that didn't stop the Republican hopeful from talking about immigration, the economy and other hot-button political issues.

And as he noted, they'll be voters one day.

Greenberg, a Long Grove resident who's challenging two-term incumbent Melissa Bean of Barrington for the 8th District seat, spoke to a pair of teacher Tom Kuhn's AP government and politics classes.

Kuhn invited Bean to speak with students separately. She has not responded.

Accompanied by his wife, Kristine, and a campaign staffer, Greenberg briefly talked about his background as a businessman and former minor-league hockey player during the first class. He spent much of the session answering questions from the students on topics including the war in Iraq, his opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants and the state of education funding.

The war was a particularly hot topic for the teens. One student asked what Green-berg would do about the U.S. occupation of Iraq; another questioned if it was right to force western culture on the Iraqi people.

"The Islamic people, the Iraqi people, are just like us," Greenberg said. "And it's our job to lift them up."

Domestic issues were a concern for students, too. One asked whether the government should help small businesses compete against super-sized retail chains such as Wal-Mart.

Small business owners need to "suck it up," Greenberg said, and create niches for themselves in the market.

Greenberg mentioned Bean only once. When a student asked about Bean's refusal to publicly discuss Greenberg's political challenge, he said the tactic gives him time to "build my brand."