Mar 11 2008
Meet Illinois’s newest congressman
I don’t expect that most people will be as excited about the content of the below video as I am because, frankly, few people are big civics nerds like me. Still, I take great joy and pride in the victory that Democrat Bill Foster claimed this weekend in Illinois’s 14th Congressional district, which was previously held by former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. While I never lived in the 14th, I did reside in some of the peripheral districts and I know all too well how difficult it is for a Democrat to get elected out there. Trust me, it’s HARD. If an Iraq war veteran that lost both of her legs can lose to a personal injury lawyer, you start to think that it’s damn near impossible.
Bill Foster may not be an Iraq war vet, but he is a physicist that used to work at Fermilab. This is fairly significant, as Fermi is really well known in the area, resides in the 14th district, and, as I heard it, has had its funding severely cut since Hastert resigned, leaving the district unrepresented. Some are saying that Foster’s win has more to do with people hating is opponent (dairy proprietor, Jim Oberweis) than with him being a successful campaigner. Regardless, I say this is a big win for the 14th, for the Democratic party and for Barack Obama. The Illinois senator and presidential candidate cut an ad supporting Foster, while the de facto Republican nominee, John McCain, cut one for Oberweis.
That being said, feel free to watch the swearing of the gentleman from Illinois, Congressman Bill Foster:
