Be skeptical of endorsement

Recently, the Lake County GOP organization endorsed Jim Oberweis for Congress in the 14th District. While Oberweis and his supporters are understandably pleased, getting Lake County Chairman Mark Shaw's seal of approval is nothing to be all that proud about. Shaw is, after all, a man of very little political discernment.

For example, he selected Helene Walsh (wife of former radio shock jock Joe Walsh) to assume Matt Sauer's state rep seat. A short time later, she went on to lose in a district that prior to her arrival was a reliable Republican district. Although both she and Shaw like to perpetrate the fiction that it was a result of negative views regarding Donald Trump, her loss was in reality caused by widespread revulsion the voters felt toward her husband. Any perceptive observer could have predicted this outcome, but somehow Shaw thought it was a wise political move. In other words, you can't say that Mark Shaw knows how to pick 'em. Then or now.

And it gets worse. Not only is Mark Shaw prone to errors of judgment, he appears to be interested in feathering his political nest. Prior to the endorsement, both Oberweis and Shaw made much of their trip to Washington, D.C., where they made the rounds meeting with establishment figures including Marco Rubio. It seems clear that if Oberweis somehow manages to wrest control from Lauren Underwood, Shaw will have a new avenue for political access. Simply stated, if Jim Oberweis' star rises, so might Mark Shaw's.

This is not to say that the good folks of the Lake County organization do not (somehow) believe that perennial candidate Oberweis is the man to beat Underwood. But when a helping of bad judgment and self interest collide, one cannot look at such endorsements in a vacuum.

Jennifer Nevins

Aurora