Hastert still backing Oberweis for Congress

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is still supporting Republican businessman Jim Oberweis to replace him in Congress but acknowledges winning the seat back from a Democrat won't be easy.

Democrat Bill Foster beat Oberweis in a special election March 8 to win the northern Illinois seat Hastert held for two decades. Hastert retired late last year, forcing a special election to fill the seat until the November general election.

Oberweis, who was backed by Hastert, beat state Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican, Feb. 5 in a special primary election for the right to take on Foster.

Hastert blamed ugliness in that battle and a short turnaround time between the two elections for Oberweis' subsequent loss.

"It was a very bad primary and it wasn't enough time to come back and recover from it," Hastert said Monday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Foster and Oberweis will square off again this fall, with Foster having the advantage of a few months in the seat. Oberweis said last week he couldn't say why he failed to keep the seat in GOP hands.

Hastert said Oberweis will have to decide whether it's worth putting more of his own money into challenging Foster and what kind of campaign he needs to run this fall. Hastert said he considers the millionaire businessman a "good guy" who has "great practical experience, business experience."

"He has to really remake himself in the public's eye," Hastert said. "Until he changes his mind, I'm there."