No escaping candidates, message

As Super Tuesday quickly approaches, expect a barrage of direct mail, robo-calls, e-mails and TV and radio commercials from candidates. And their supporters and spouses.

One might be standing next to you at your favorite doughnut shop today or even in the pew with you at church Sunday morning. There seems to be no escaping them -- especially the candidates vying to replace Denny Hastert in the hotly contested 14th Congressional District.

Republican hopeful Chris Lauzen was spotted Sunday at Cross Lutheran Church in the heart of Hastert-land: Yorkville. And Democrat John Laesch is scheduled to attend morning services at St James AME Church in Elgin Sunday.

Pinocchio and more cows:

Lauzen and rival Jim Oberweis continued attacking one another in the paid media.

Oberweis' latest TV commercial slams Lauzen for allocating "taxpayer money for stained glass window in a parking garage," a point that Oberweis will make again in a direct mail piece going out this weekend that features a photo of a stained-glass window. It's a reference to Lauzen securing $10,000 in public funds for a window in a parking garage in Naperville, part of which once sat in his district.

Responding to the attack in a news release, Lauzen claimed he approved those funds for an item described only as a "central business district artwork project" in Naperville proposed by the nonprofit Century Walk Corp.

"The folks on that board decided to spend the money as they saw fit. In fact, all monies the board received went to a central operating fund and private citizens and other civic and government groups contributed to the project," Lauzen said. "I did not, nor would I have supported use of the funds in the manner in which they were eventually spent."

Earlier this week Lauzen sent out a mailer depicting Oberweis in a red convertible with a sexy, cigarette-smoking cartoon cow. "If you think Jim Oberweis is spending big bucks on his campaign, imagine how he's spend your tax dollars," the piece reads. The cow is a play on Oberweis' eponymous dairy business.

After that, another Oberweis mailer came out comparing Lauzen to Pinocchio for "lying about Jim Oberweis," according to the piece.

Taxes at issue:

In the race for Kane County Board chairman, incumbent Karen McConnaughay held a "town hall meeting" for voters over the phone this week. She used it to promote her tax reform proposal being introduced in the General Assembly by state Rep. Tim Schmitz, a Batavia Republican who's also running for re-election. Voters who stayed on the line long enough after hearing McConnaughay's recorded message were connected live and invited to ask questions about county government. Most grilled her on their high property tax assessments.

Her GOP opponent, Jim MacRunnels, said the teleconference is "too little, too late" for McConnaughay's campaign. MacRunnels, an Elburn financial planner, has been banging his drum against wasteful spending and high taxes throughout his campaign.

"That's been my stance all along," he said.