03/12/2014
Brendan Bond Staff Writer
Land of Lincoln Lowdown
Reboot Illinois
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis took off for Florida one week before the election for what he called “a few days” to celebrate his wife’s birthday and raise funds.
The Illinois state senator has a comfortable lead over opponent Doug Truax in the polls, mostly due to a sizeable lead in name recognition. Truax has been trying to engage Oberweis in a debate, but Oberweis has refused to do so. Oberweis’ leaving the state for Florida annoyed Truax even more.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Challenger Doug Truax blasted Oberweis for taking the trip, calling him a “timid snowbird” who was “lounging in Florida” and ducking debates.
It’s looking more and more likely, however, that it will be Oberweis taking on incumbent Dick Durbin in the November general election, and Oberweis emphasized part of the Florida trip was to raise funds for the fight against Durbin.
More from the Tribune:
Reached by telephone Tuesday, Oberweis declined to comment to the Tribune about an NBC-Channel 5 report that he was in Florida, and referred a reporter to his campaign director.
Just hours before a snowstorm was predicted to hit the Chicago area, campaign director Tom Mannix released a statement from Oberweis defending the Florida trip:
“It is certainly no secret that in a highly contested U.S. Senate race in one of America’s most populous states, I will be expected to travel quite a bit over the next six months, mostly inside Illinois but occasionally outside Illinois, to meet with contributors and to attend fundraising events.
“I have currently traveled to Florida for two reasons. First, to fulfill a promise to my wife (Julie) to spend a few days with her in Florida for her birthday, and second, to raise money for my U.S. Senate race.”
Oberweis bought a condo in Bonita Springs, Fla., in 2010. In a recent Tribune interview, he said that he had planned to winter in Florida and play golf, but Illinois politics beckoned him.
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Brendan Bond is an editorial assistant at Reboot Illinois. He is a graduate of Loyola University, where he majored in journalism. Brendan takes a look each day at the Land of Lincoln Lowdown and it’s often pretty low. He examines the property tax rates that drive Illinoisans insane. You can find Reboot on Facebook at and on Twitter @rebootillinois. His email is Brendan.Bond@rebootillinois.com.