Politics

14th Congressional District Candidates Debate

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Immigration policy emerged Friday as a top issue in the Congressional contest to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Voters in the 14th Congressional District will go to the polls next month. That district stretches from Aurora to near the Iowa border. As CBS 2's political editor Mike Flannery reports, the two candidates clashed in their first debate.

The face to face encounter in the studios of WBBM Newsradio 780 began with a handshake. Democrat Bill Foster sought to tie the Republican nominee Jim Oberweis to an unpopular President.

"You said you agreed with President Bush on almost everything," Foster said.

When the debate turned to immigration, Oberweis said he supports a plan allowing the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented workers to eventually become citizens. They could work in the United States three years, return home for six months and then could come back to repeat the cycle.

"And this can go on until they become citizens following our laws," Oberweis said.

Foster called for undocumented workers and the businesses who hire them to pay an "impact fee."

"There should be impact fees paid by the employer that represent the true burden that these workers place on our schools, on our police, on our health care system," Foster said.

Afterwards Oberweis claimed Foster would be too soft on those who enter the country illegally.

"It sounds like he wants to create a system for employers to hire illegal immigrants – that's not what we need in this country, that's going to cause a big problem to become even worse," Oberweis said.

A spokesman for Foster called that quote ridiculous. He said there are no major differences between the two candidates on immigration reform.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---