Bernard Schoenburg: Tarter criticizes Curran over past comments on Trump

Mar. 1--Dr. Tom Tarter, Springfield's entry in the five-way Republican primary race for U.S. Senate, has been taking particular aim at perhaps the best known of his opponents.

In news releases in recent weeks, Tarter, 67, a retired urologist and cancer surgeon, pointed out past comments about President Donald Trump by one of his opponents -- former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran.

Lake County is just north of Cook County, in the far northeast corner of the state. Tarter calls Curran a "never-Trumper," which Curran denies.

"I support the president and think he is doing a solid job," Curran told me.

Says Tarter: "Mark Curran claims he's always supported President Trump, yet he's on record multiple times having opposed Trump since 2015. Is he lying or has he flip-flopped? Either way, he can't be trusted."

Curran, 56, says Tarter knows he's losing in regions of the state and is "a desperate person trying to spin untruths."

Among Curran comments Tarter points out are some reported by WBBM radio in Chicago following the 2018 election where Curran was seeking another term. He ultimately lost, conceding during a recount to Democratic Sheriff John Idleburg.

In the radio story, Curran -- who at the time appeared to have won the election -- said, "I was nervous -- more nervious than I've ever been, going to train stations, hearing people say, 'I'm not voting for anyone in the party of Trump.'" The report said Curran didn't believe Trump would win Michigan and Wisconsin again in 2020, and a direct Curran quote was: "We as Republicans should probably look to take him out in some way, shape or form because ultimately, he's horrible for our brand."

I asked Curran about that, and he said he was responding to a reporter's questions, realized the demographics of Lake County (which in 2018 was more than 13 percent Hispanic), and was also worried about people in his sheriff's office who ended up losing jobs under the new sheriff.

"Donald Trump is not popular up there, he does not play well up there," Curran said. "I don't think you'll find an elected official in Lake County that won't tell you that he (Trump) was on the ballot" in the 2018 race (which was not actually a presidential election year).

Curran's first winning race for sheriff, in 2006, was as a Democrat. But he said he was always pro-life and "very conservative" in his views, and later became the top Republican vote-getter in the county.

A Tarter news release also referenced a September 2015 event in downtown Chicago -- a prayer vigil that followed a march marking 10 years of the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform.

The Chicago Tribune reported that demonstrators held up signs calling for a halt to immigration raids and deportations, including one stating: "Jesus was an immigrant."

"How many of y'all out there think maybe Donald Trump is blind?" Curran was quoted as saying. During his speech, he led the crowd in a "Hail Mary" for Congress, and led the Fatima prayer for Trump, who, as the newspaper said, was a presidential candidate who had made controversial remarks about immigrants.

"Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who have most needed thy mercy," Curran led the group in praying.

Curran told me he's a Catholic who goes to church every day, and the "blind" talk was a reference to the Book of Matthew. In that book is the story of Jesus returning sight to two blind men. Curran also said he backed an immigration reform plan. He says now he is for building a border wall, but says "a wall alone is not going to do it, obviously," with the potential for underground tunnels and other ways to breach a barrier. He's for several remedies to illegal crossings, including use of drones. And he said there are not enough federal agents to handle adequate border security.

Tarter has been noting his central Illinois home in his campaign. A flier he distributes says he will: "Represent all of Illinois, not just liberal Chicago; Keep Americans safe and build the wall;" and "Stand with President (Donald) Trump against Socialism."

"My lifelong history of Republican activism and my support of President Trump is proven and genuine," Tarter says.

Whoever wins the GOP primary March 17 will take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield resident, in the November election. Other Republican candidates are Peggy Hubbard of Belleville, who is retired, served in the Navy and worked for the IRS; Casey Chlebek of Glenview, a businessman who moved to Chicago from Poland with family in time to start college and who once served as president of the Illinois division of the Polish American Congress; and radiologist Robert Marshall of Burr Ridge, who placed last of six candidates in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor and whose current platform includes seeking to split Illinois into two states.

Hubbard has generated a bit of controversy recently, when she said she had brought a weapon into Hinsdale Central High School during a student-sponsored candidate forum, but later backed away from the claim.

The Arlington Heights-based Daily Herald reported that in a forum in Washington, Ill., she told an audience Feb. 18 that during a Feb. 13 visit to Hinsdale Central, "I walked in with a concealed carry and I had a gun and three clips and nobody checked." She also posted on social media that she "walked in with ... my weapon and 2 clips!"

But, the Herald reported, she told the newspaper that while she carried two ammunition magazines in her purse at a Hinsdale Central forum, she left her weapon in a lockbox in her car.

"I was trying to get a rise out of people and I misspoke," she told the newspaper. "And I apologize for that, but I did have two clips on me."

Curran has been endorsed by the Herald, as well as the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.

"I will represent all of Illinois, not just liberal Chicago," Tarter said in response.

"In order for somebody to win in November," Curran said, "they're going to have to do fairly well up north."

Contact Bernard Schoenburg: bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com, 788-1540, twitter.com/bschoenburg.

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