Oberweis: Durbin ‘totally wrong’ in questioning his tax payments
By Katherine Skiba and Kim Geiger, Chicago Tribune | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
But one of the flashiest punches in their appearance before the
"He's totally wrong," the challenger said.
Oberweis, a Republican, has lived for 37 years in west suburban
Oberweis accused Durbin of lying and insisted he pays
Hours later, he landed a counterpunch by releasing his 2012 and 2013 Illinois state income tax returns. In 2013, Oberweis reported
His 2012 state tax return reported almost
Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the
During Monday's appearance, Oberweis pounded Durbin as a "career politician" whose nearly 32 years in
Durbin dismissed Oberweis, who has lost five previous bids for major office, as being famous for his ice cream. Oberweis is an investment manager and dairy owner known for the chain of ice cream parlors that carry his name.
In a rare moment of consensus, both men agreed that President
Durbin said on Sunday that he does not expect any U.S. troops to conduct ground combat while Obama is president.
Oberweis said Obama and congressional lawmakers should not take the option of ground forces off the table.
"I absolutely do not think they should rule that out as an option," Oberweis said. "I don't think we should tell our enemies what we're going to do. Let them figure it out. Let them guess."
Oberweis said it was not clear what country would supply the ground forces -- and suggested
On entitlements, Oberweis said he favored raising the age for
Durbin countered by saying 90 percent of a person's earned income should be subject to
On the Affordable Care Act, Oberweis wants to repeal and replace it. Durbin does not, and he warned that such an action might mean new college graduates wouldn't have health insurance. The act lets them stay on a parent's health insurance until age 26.
On gun control, Durbin called for universal background checks for firearms purchasers and condemned so-called straw buyers, saying: "The notion that the girlfriend goes in and buys the gun for the boyfriend to go out and kill somebody tonight, I want to stiffen the penalty on that."
Oberweis said he might consider enhancing the penalty for straw buyers, but he opposes universal background checks until someone can prove that they would cut down on violence.
Oberweis accused Durbin of being less than transparent about releasing all his correspondence with the
The issue has been raised repeatedly by the Oberweis campaign, which has seized on a 2010 letter in which Durbin called on the
Durbin said the letter, posted on his website, was his only correspondence with the
But Oberweis challenged that assertion, producing a three-line email, dated
Durbin campaign spokesman
The candidates' nicest comments came when they talked about themselves.
They were asked what they would like written on their tombstones. Durbin, 69, at first said he planned to be cremated. When pressed about his legacy, he said: "He was honest and he helped the helpless."
Oberweis, 68, answered straight away: "Here lies
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