Editorial: 14th Congressional District
January 31, 2008
(OSWEGO LEDGER-SENTINEL) Republican ballot
Denny Hastert leaves big political shoes to fill. He excelled as a
state legislator, championing transportation and infrastructure issues
that allowed local communities to keep their heads above water as
growth engulfed Kendall County. And he continued that tradition as
first a Congressman and then as Speaker of the House.
We were saddened when Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns dropped out of this
race because we felt he had the best grasp of the issues and had the
makings of an effective legislator.
Jim Oberweis has a background in business but no experience in
government. Chris Lauzen has 15 years experience in the Illinois
Senate. We have not agreed with some of his decisions- particularly
with the need for the Prairie Parkway. We believe both hold views that
are more conservative than those held by most residents of the 14th
District. We do not endorse in this race.
Democratic ballot
John Laesch is a fresh face on the political scene. In the last
general election for this seat, he scored a remarkable 40 percent of
the vote against the extremely popular Hastert. But we believe that
Laesch's ideas - including his notions that the federal government
ought to be even more involved in public education - need some more
work. Instead, we endorse Bill Foster as the Democratic candidate.
Foster has shown he can raise the astonishing amounts of money it will
take to be competitive in this election cycle and his views on the
issues are moderate enough to gain him some cross-overs in the general
election, and even to work with his colleagues on the Republican side
of the aisle.