McHenry County Blog

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis has issued a press release critical of both incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich and poll leader Judy Topinka. Oberweis thinks ethical concerns link the two. It is below:

Oxymorons Introduced Into Gubernatorial Campaign

On Sunday, Rod Blagojevich announced his re-election bid and Judy Topinka announced her ethics plan.

A Blagojevich re-election and a Topinka ethics plan are both oxymorons. Based on the number of independents and Democrats who are flooding our campaign with offers to help, I would say that Governor Blagojevich has a better chance of winning an Oscar for best actor in a comedy of errors than he does of being re-elected.

After twenty-five years in Springfield, Ms. Topinka finally has a light bulb go off that perhaps ethics are a problem in Illinois politics. While she accepted over $500,000 from banks and bank officers that may do business with her office, Ms. Topinka saw no need for ethics reform. When she attempted to forgive $30 million of public debt owed by political insiders, Ms. Topinka saw no need for ethics reform.

When she made a deal with George Ryan to transfer jobs and responsibilities from the Executive to the Treasurer's office, Ms. Topinka saw no need for ethics reform.

Now that the other candidates have joined me in calling for the resignation of lobbyist Bob Kjellander from his post as Illinois Republican National Committeeman, Ms. Topinka shows her real disregard for ethics by continuing to claim impotence on the Kjellander issue. Remember, Kjellander is the anti-conservative lobbyist who has overseen the hobbling of the Illinois GOP while receiving an $809,000 commission on the Blagojevich bond deal and a $4.5 million fee for introducing the Carlyle Group to the scandal plagued Illinois Teacher Retirement System.

The people of Illinois deserve a governor who has not been a part of the culture of corruption in Springfield and Chicago. Republican voters deserve a nominee who has been loyal to the Republican platform and our Republican candidates. The choice is clear: Judy Topinka and more of the same or our campaign to renew Illinois with principled Republican values and a heartfelt and proven allegiance to ethical conduct.