Oberweis Out of Line

Oberweis approached Gidwitz and Brady to drop out of the GOP primary for governor. Chicago Tribune:

"He wanted 10 straws and Brady and I each would have one straw," Gidwitz said Saturday, before the Elmhurst St. Patrick's Day Parade. He said Oberweis wanted 10 straws "because he's the leader and because neither one of us is, in his mind, in contention."

Gidwitz, a Chicago businessman, called the request "absurd" but said Oberweis was "totally serious" about it.

Brady, a state senator from Bloomington and, like Oberweis, a conservative, said he received a similar request.

"He said, `If God wanted you to be the candidate, it wouldn't matter how many straws you have,'" Brady recalled Oberweis saying. "I said, `Jim, I'm not interested.' It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The people of Illinois need to decide who the nominee should be, not straws."