From “Former Quigley Supporter”:
14th Congressional District Roundup 6/14/19
Rich Miller Reveals Jim Oberweis Hypocrisy on Gas Tax Hike Bill
In the recent Casten thread, I said in a comment “I have a beef with anyone who intentionally does not tell the truth, and that means the whole truth.” In the past 24 hours, Jim Oberweis has shown what happens to you when you are caught in lies.
From Capitol Fax:
First of all, I would like to thank my good friend Sen. Sandoval. The guy put in incredible amounts of time. I assume that most of you know that. Traveling all over the state to meet with people to discuss needs and lining up support for this, as did our Sen. DeWitte on this side of the aisle.
Having said that, I’m in a position where I believe I need to vote ‘Present’ because of a potential conflict. But, again, thank you to the two of you, especially Sen. Sandoval, for putting in the time and making that happen. Thanks.
— Jim Oberweis, June 2nd, speaking on the senate floor on Sen. Martin Sandoval’s SB1939 (Capital Bill with Gas Tax Hike), the bill which raised several taxes and fees to fund the horizontal infrastructure bill.
The Capitol Fax article displayed screen shots of the original Facebook post on Oberweis’ congressional campaign’s Facebook page, and the edited version which was corrected nearly 2 hours after the original was posted, and several Facebook commenters called-out Oberweis’ “present” vote. Rich Miller finished his article with this conclusion:
Sen. Rezin did vote for the bill, as did most of Oberweis’ GOP colleagues. And I dunno about you, but it sure sounded to me that night that he would’ve voted for it, too, had it not been for his unexplained conflict of interest. Such is life on the campaign trail I guess.
Since Capitol Fax’s column, Oberweis’ congressional Facebook page has replies from his campaign to some of the commenters calling-out Oberweis:
Reply from Senator Jim Oberweis:
Nothing inconsistent except Rich Miller.
He hates conservatives as I’m sure you know.
Sandoval and DeWitte did do a big job traveling all over the state over several weeks listening to capital request presentations and I tried to say something nice about their efforts.
I attended two of those.
Sandoval was very effective at getting everyone who testified to commit to supporting a gas tax increase.
I have never voted for a tax increase.
I believe we need to control spending before I could support any increase.
One could make an argument that this is a user fee since all proceeds supposedly will be used to improve our roads and bridges.
Nonetheless I was advised by compliance to vote present on two of the six bills presented on Sunday, June 2, because of a potential conflict of interest as a result of my ownership of Oberweis Dairy.
A present vote works the same as a no vote because the bill needs 30 yes votes to pass regardless of how many people vote.
Cate Bernhardt: Voting present is not voting against it. It is keeping one leg on both sides of the fence for political expediency…
Jim 2020: The bill in its entirety had some tax incentives for businesses some of which Oberweis Dairy could qualify for; therefore, Senator Oberweis couldn’t vote yes or no. Jim I hasn’t voted for any tax increase so it would have been a no – he made a statement on the record BEFORE he took the vote that day.
Capitol Fax transcribed what Oberweis actually said, and there was no detail in his floor speech. Here’s another thread Oberweis’ campaign responded:
Vicki Hughes: Voting present is the same as voting yes. Why didn’t you vote no?
Jim 2020: Senator Oberweis could not vote either way due to a conflict of interest with the bill providing certain tax benefits that Oberweis Dairy could benefit from.
Vicki Hughes: so screw the rest of us for your own benefit.
Jim 2020: He would have voted no, but could not after he discussed it with the House ethics commission.
Here is what Oberweis told Cal:http://159.89.184.83/2019/06/07/oberweis-explains-present-vote-tax-increase-bill
The full Capitol Fax article can be found here:https://capitolfax.com/2019/06/14/congressional-candidate-praises-tax-hike-sponsors-for-their-work-blasts-opponent-who-voted-for-it
James Marter Visits Crystal Lake, updates his Facebook Profile pic
James Marter attended the town hall at Crystal Lake City Hall this past Tuesday, and several images were posted on his Facebook page. He also, possibly after reading McHenry County Blog and Jim Oberweis’ 11 1/2 years old Facebook profile pic posted on Monday, updated his Facebook pic on Tuesday.
What about the hypocrisy of Rich Miller and ‘The Jackal’ Franks?
Some additional comments from the congressional campaign Facebook page of Jim Oberweis for the post where he initially said he voted “NO” on the gas tax hike and attacking Sue Rezin for voting for it, then changed it to he did not vote for it, and then being revealed he praised the gas tax hike bill per Capitol Fax:
Jake Justen: I see you edited your post from claiming to have voted ‘No’ to just having not voted for it. Where would we be without brave politicians like you voting ‘present’?
Jake Leahy: Why’d you speak out in favor of the gas tax on the floor then?
John Burns: You literally thanked the sponsors of the bill on the floor of the Senate.
The last two gentlemen clearly read the Capitol Fax article, since Oberweis’ Facebook page mentions nothing about his praising the capital bill or thanking the sponsors of the bill in his floor speech on June 2nd.
Why doesn’t Oberweis simply own up to what he did?
Congressional Candidate James Marter issued a very lengthy Facebook meme this morning with recent specific events. You can access the “What’s My Plan for Washington?” post here:
https://www.facebook.com/Marter4Congress/posts/2047460215559978?__tn__=K-R
He mentions the now-tabled congressional pay raise, advocates for term limits and goes at length about career politicians, as well as examples of spending currently being considered.
It’s worth a read.
He was also in Wauconda yesterday at the American Legion Post #911 for a flag retirement ceremony on Flag Day.
Go to his Facebook page if you want to see his meme, along with photo images from the event.
I have to give Marter credit, he is getting out all over the 14th congressional district, being in Crystal Lake this past Tuesday and Wauconda yesterday.
Those who usually drive the Oswego to McHenry and Lake Counties can appreciate that isn’t a quick trip.
Kudos for getting out all over the district so early, Mr. Marter.
Per a previous post, Marter will be in Oswego for PrairieFest this weekend, including the parade tomorrow.
Former Quigley Supporter, I have to agree with your question, “Why doesn’t Oberweis simply own up to what he did”?
It appears to me, that a Denny Hastert Republican, The Milk Man, might believe, “half truths” are ok, kinda like lying by omission.
14th Congressional District 6/17/19 — Oswego PrairieFest Parade Incident
Yesterday at the PrairieFest in Oswego, an incident took place which impacted Congressional Candidate James Marter, whose campaign used PrairieFest as its formal kickoff after his May 30 announcement. Democratic Congresswoman Lauren Underwood participated in Oswego yesterday, along with Marter and volunteers for Jim Oberweis. If the other 14th district Republican candidates participated, their social media sites say nothing. Here is a Facebook post Mr. Marter shared yesterday after the parade, and brings up the incident:
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Marter for Congress
18 hrs ·
Today the Kendall Republicans had a great day at The Village of Oswego’s Prairie Fest Parade, on Father’s Day. We thank all the support we received along the way, from the wonderful people in the Village, and the weather was great! For all it was a festive day!
However, something was brought to our attention that occurred before the parade in the staging area when the Kendall County Democratic party float went by, they were cheering and waving, and we did the same, all in good fun and friendly for the most part. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood was on the float, and as she went by, she said hi to me and I said hi to her as I was waving hello to her.
Except we had one volunteer walker who made an inappropriate gesture to the float, unbeknownst to me or anyone else with the Republican Party of Kendall County. We received a call from a Kendall County Democratic board member and thanked them for bringing this to our attention.
As the immediate former Chairman and I spoke with the current Chairman, we both apologize to the Kendall County Democratic party for this person’s bad behavior, and we will no longer be affiliated with the person, who is not a precinct committeeman.
In the heated environment in politics these days, we cannot tolerate this type of behavior on either side and I regret it happened before the event.
Sincerely – James Marter
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Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s campaign Twitter account sent out a thread of tweets about the incident, which is pasted together for ease of reading:
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Lauren Underwood
@LaurenUnderwood
Today, while walking alongside volunteers, my family and my community in this year’s PrairieFest Parade, someone gave a Nazi salute and shouted hate speech at us. I want to be very clear: hate has absolutely no place here. PrairieFest has been a family friendly, fun and welcoming event in Oswego for many years and we refuse to let this action define us. We are a community that embraces one another and values civility and tolerance and I am proud to represent it as your Congresswoman. We will not be silent in the face of hate — and I hope that you will stand with me against it.
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While the congresswoman’s campaign did not name either James Marter or the Kendall County Republicans in her campaign’s tweets, others did, as documented in this news story from WSPY:
http://www.wspynews.com/news/local/kendall-dem-gop-party-chairs-issue-statements-following-controversy-over/article_cb7a2e3e-90c7-11e9-b999-9325ec79dc50.html
Regrettably, both sides (Democrats and Republicans) are trying to politicize yesterday’s disgusting incident. Read some of the comments to Marter’s campaign Facebook post, which his campaign is having to control and filter. It’s also very good to see several bipartisan comments supporting how Marter handled the incident.
What that individual did yesterday goes beyond an overzealous supporter. There are fringe elements in any political movement, and yesterday, one of those fringe elements went too far and acted out, and did it while representing James Marter.
I went back into the archives here and found the following a vulgar incident of a hand gesture from the Independence Day parade in Crystal Lake in 2013, and the person doing the incident there stated “…I was apparently holding the roof of a vehicle with my middle finger instead of all my fingers” (http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2013/07/10/do-pictures-lie-zinke-victimized-by-a-local-blogger-you-decide). I am sure 99.9% of people have come a long way from that kind of lack of self-awareness. Unfortunately, one of the 0.1% reared its ugly head yesterday in Oswego.