Oberweis Challenges Opponents to Make Term-Limit Pledge

At a debate between three GOP 25th Senate District hopefuls Wednesday night, Jim Oberweis vowed he would serve no more than eight years and challenged his opponents—Dave Richmond and Rick Slocum—to make the same pledge then and there.

"I wlll sign a pledge that I will not serve more than eight years if elected, and I would like to ask my friends here to do the same," Oberweis said during the follow-up portion of the question-and-answer period.

Richmond said he would consider it. Slocum said he wasn't going to answer a question that wasn't proposed by the debate monitor.

All this took place at a 7 p.m. debate at the Urban Grille in Geneva that was sponsored by the Kane County Young Republicans.

Oberweis is the prominent dairy owner and longtime Republican who has made previous unsuccessful runs at the U.S. Senate and 14th Congressional District seats. Richmond serves as the supervisor of Blackberry Township and Slocum is an attorney with 16 years' experience as a member and president of the West Aurora School Board.

"I can’t tell you how many people have said, 'I’m in favor of term limits,' then change their mind," Oberweis said. "That’s nonsense. Term limits are successful in Florida, and I think eight years is probably the right limit for state legislators here."

When he became a member of the Illinois Republican Central Committee, Oberweis said he pushed the Bylaws Committee for eight-year limits for that organization. It was resisted at first and got one vote, but in a later vote, "we got it passed," Oberweis said.

During the front end of the Q&A, Slocum said he was in favor of term limits, as well. "I think 12 years, and that’s it—I could be persuaded less," he said. "I’m not going down there (to Springfield) for a lifetime. I think too many people are concerned about teir job and their benefits."

Richmond said he also is in favor of term limits. He cited the example of Democrat Mike Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, as the poster child for term limits. "We've got to take away the incentives of being career politicians," he said.

Illinois is one of 14 states with no gubernatorial term-limits.

Oberweis' challenge was the closest thing to a bombshell in a debate where the candidates agreed on many of the issues, from pension reform to creating a competitive environment for businesses.

Oberweis said he was the best candidate to represent the newly restructured 25th District because he's grown a business, signed paychecks, dealt directly with union issues and has been a strong supporter of the Republican Party, not only monitarily but with his volunteer time for GOP campaigns going as far back as Barry Goldwater.

"If we want a better business approach, then why don’t we send a businessman to Springfield?" he said in his opening remarks.

Richmond's message was that he is the only candidate who has shown that he has delivered on the GOP promise to control spending and taxes. As supervisor of Blackberry Township, Richmond said, he has led by example. His five solutions for Springfield focus on job creation, tort and ethics reform, pension reform and a balanced budget.

"I need your help," he said in his closing statement. "I need you to tell your neighbors, Dave Richmond is the guy who’s lowered property taxes in Blackberry Township."

Slocum separated himself from the pack by portraying himself as an innovator and consensus-builder. He said during his 16-year tenure on the West Aurora School Board he has help find smart ways to share resources—with Aurora University and neighboring school districts, that have saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. He encouraged the Republican Party to reach out with social networking, to be more inclusive, and he supports education and job training.

"Sometimes consensus is considered a dirty word," he said. "But you have to be able to work with different sections of the population."

The 25th Senate District has been restructured and now includes the east sides of St. Charles and Geneva and Batavia as far west as Randall Road. It also includes all or parts of Elburn, Sugar Grove, Montgomery, West Chicago, Bartlett, Wayne, Warrenville, Naperville, Yorkville, Oswego, Aurora, South Elgin, Campton Hills, Plano, and North Aurora.

On the Democratic side, two candidates are vying for their party's nomination in the March 20 primary: Corinne Pierog of St. Charles and Steven Hunter of Geneva.