The two candidates running in a March 8 special election to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert disagreed Friday on the federal government’s role in the nation’s mortgage crisis.
Republican Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove argued that government intervention would disrupt the housing market, but Democrat Bill Foster of Geneva suggested a Great Depression-era plan might help solve the problem.
“I believe there is a strong government role to help out people in a way that is still responsible with taxpayers’ money,” Foster, 52, said Friday while taping a segment of “City Desk” at NBC 5.
Foster, a former Fermilab physicist and business owner, said he thinks the federal government ought to enact a program similar to the Homeowners Loan Corp., which the federal government created in 1933 to stabilize real estate that depreciated during the Great Depression.
Oberweis, a dairy owner and former investment manager, said Foster’s proposal would set a bad precedent and could hurt the real estate market.
“I’m afraid while Bill is very, very smart when it comes to quantum physics, his understanding about how the economy works and about how the mortgage industry works is pretty limited,” said Oberweis, 61.
Oberweis said he supports President Bush’s proposal to have lenders and borrowers come together voluntarily and renegotiate.
Oberweis’ dig at Foster was typical of the exchanges the candidates have had since the Feb. 5 primary. As the campaign enters its final week, the two millionaires are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into a TV advertising blitz.
Their efforts are being supplemented by ads from their respective national parties.
The candidates, who are seeking to fill out Hastert’s unexpired term in a special election, also taped a segment for “News Views” on WLS-Ch. 7. Both programs will air Sunday morning.
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jkimberly@tribune.com
