Yesterday, I voted for Oberweis for Illinois governor in the Republican primary. (We have early voting in Illinois this year. Yet, today is the last day for it though. Of course, you can vote on March 21st which is the offical voting day.)

In 2004, Oberweis ran for US Senate and came in second place in the primaries. He was reviled by the media for his ads against illegal immigration.

Last week, there was a gubernatorial debate among the Republican primary candidates. Here was one exchange:

Andy Shaw, ABC 7:
Mr Oberweis, you've been a very successful businessman. You make great ice cream, even if it's a bit too fattening.
-- But each of your political campaigns have been mired in a lot of controversy. Last race, you alienated Latinos, the White House, the Speaker of the House, most of the party by this anti-immigration ad.
-- In this campaign, you've been accused of false headlines and relying on questionable sources in your ads about Ms Topinka.
-- How can we trust that you're going to restore integrity to state government when each of your campaigns has this cloud of controversy over your own activities?

Jim Oberweis:
Andy, that's precisely why you should have confidence in me. I have had the courage to stand up and face tough issues.
-- Two years ago, nobody wanted to talk about the problem of ILLEGAL immigration. And I have trouble understanding why people don't get that ILLEGAL word in there. That's very important, very critical. Our ads were very early. People didn't want to talk about that issue at that time. But I think today, people realize how serious this issue is.
-- And yet our governor doesn't get it. This governor came out with his so-called I-Loan program - or illegal alien loan program - offering mortgages at 3% interest with 3% down, a better rate than we give our own veterans in this state. That kind of stuff is crazy.
-- And when it comes to our commercials this time around, I believe everything's been backed up with facts. We've provided evidence from newspaper articles and further depositions - or further sworn statements - to show that everything we said was 100% accurate.

In Illinois, you don't have to be registered as a Republican to vote in the Republican primary. The clerk's office justs asks you which ballot you want. You say you want the Republican ballot, and then you vote.

I think Oberweis is the only one that's pretty tough on this issue. So, vote for Oberweis on March 21st.