Manzullo, Abboud differ sharply on issues in 16th

The 16th District Congressional race offers voters a sharp contrast on the hot button issues of the day.

Incumbent Don Manzullo supports the war in Iraq, challenger Bob Abboud favors withdrawal; Abboud favors the economic bailout, Manzullo opposes; and Manzullo opposes expanding the government's role in health care, while Abboud favors letting employers pool resources and creating national health insurance.

The two candidates are in agreement on some issues: favoring nuclear power and opposing the Canadian National's proposed use of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad.

And both try to sell their expertise on the economy as their strongest selling point.

Manzullo, a Rockford-area attorney who has held office for 16 years, is chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, and just received an award from the National Association of Manufacturers.

"I spend 75 percent of my time on manufacturing issues," he said in a Daily Herald interview.

Abboud, the mayor of Barrington Hills running as a Democrat, is a businessman himself, a nuclear engineer who owns RGA Laboratories, an energy consulting business.

"I bring judgment, technical skill, and expertise in local government," he said.

He attacks Manzullo for high unemployment in his district, saying more should be done to penalize companies that ship jobs abroad, and to make the federal government buy all its goods and services domestically.

As to the war in Iraq, Abboud favors a condensed timetable to get out of Iraq and to make Iraqis responsible for their own country, while increasing troops in Afghanistan, and increasing Special Forces for future tactical strikes against terrorists.

Manzullo supports current policy on Iraq and Afghanistan, and calls for getting more support from NATO and Pakistan.

Manzullo also favors keeping the Bush tax cuts, while offering a flat income tax alternative. and is rated the most fiscally conservative congressman from Illinois by the National Taxpayers Union.

Abboud, a self-described former Reagan Republican disillusioned by Evangelical influence on the party, would repeal tax cuts for oil companies' record profits, and on businesses that send jobs overseas.

And on illegal immigration, Abboud would require businesses to verify the legal status of their employees, and would stop providing federal services for illegal immigrants. Manzullo calls for tightening the border and opposes any kind of amnesty.

Locally, Abboud calls for Manzullo to free up federal funding for needed road improvements, like for Routes 62 and 31, while Manzullo has picketed at the site to call on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to release state matching funds.

Green Party candidate Scott Summers, a McHenry County College trustee from the town of Harvard, champions Medicare for all and "micro-capitalism" to support home and community-based businesses.