Schielke, Weisner, others lend support to Foster
BATAVIA -- Six Northern Illinois mayors shivered in a biting winter wind Tuesday to endorse U.S. Rep. Bill Foster in next week's election.
The six are among 11 area mayors who have formed a consortium to campaign for the freshman representative, a Democrat from Geneva who replaced former House Speaker Dennis Hastert in a special election last March.
"Batavia has good reason to support Bill Foster," said Mayor Jeff Schielke, who hosted the press conference in a sculpture garden outside City Hall. "Batavia is home to Fermilab. This past year we experienced a major constraint in Fermilab's budget that would have seriously impacted our community. Only through Bill Foster and a few others in Congress did we get the money to keep Fermilab strong."
Foster's efforts to get more federal funding for the nuclear physics research center where he once worked as a physicist also impressed Montgomery Village President Marilyn Michelini.
"He got the funding for Fermilab that kept a lot of people in our communities employed," she said. "The minute he was elected last spring, he hit the ground running and has done a fantastic job. He also works both sides of the aisle, and I like that."
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner agreed. "Bill's not swayed by partisanship," Weisner said. "He is the best definition of a scientist -- a problem solver. He digs into the evidence and comes up with real solutions."
Others who joined in the endorsement include Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto; DeKalb Acting Mayor Kris Povlsen; Dixon Mayor Jim Burke; Elgin Mayor Edward Schock; Pingree Grove Village President Wyman Carey; Sleepy Hollow Village President Stephen Pickett; Wayne Village President Eileen Phipps; and Yorkville Mayor Valerie Burd.
Foster said he has spent hours talking with leaders of towns in the district about how to handle issues such as bringing high-tech businesses and jobs to the area and opposing the proposed merger of the EJ&E and Canadian National railroads, which officials predict will increase freight train traffic through the western suburbs.
"These mayors are on the front lines of the challenges communities are facing today," he said. "I want to help make sure these communities are the best places to start businesses and raise families."
"This is a new political dynamic (than the conditions under which Foster defeated Oberweis in the special election)," From said.
"Voters are cynical and upset. Bill Foster said he would work for change, but he voted for the bailout bill, and that's going to upset a lot of people in the district."
