Milk Man makes up fake headlines attacking JBT... Chiago Tribune Story

2 new television ads for Oberweis use made-up headlines

By Ofelia Casillas and Rick PearsonTribune political reporters

March 1, 2006
Republican governor candidate Jim Oberweis is launching two TV ads that use made-up newspaper headlines to attack front-runner Judy Baar Topinka's integrity.The words are displayed as if they appeared on the front pages of the Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the State Journal-Register of Springfield.But Oberweis campaign manager Joe Wiegand said, "those aren't headlines." Instead, he said, the "text is excerpted" from stories that appeared in those publications. A review of the stories did not find the exact words as they were presented in the ads, which are to begin airing Wednesday."We are not printing a newspaper," Wiegand said Tuesday. "We are doing a television advertisement."Charles Wheeler, a journalism professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, called the ads deceitful."It strikes me that you are trying to use the newspapers' good name for your own purposes and misrepresenting what the newspaper actually reported," said Wheeler, a former longtime Statehouse reporter for the Sun-Times.One Oberweis ad displays the Post-Dispatch with the words "Ordered to Destroy Document" and cites a decade-old story about a former Topinka aide who alleged he had been ordered to shred a document listing investors in two state-backed hotel loan projects.But the actual headline on the story was, "Illinois treasurer aide is accused; Loans, hotel investors' list are involved." The matter was referred to local prosecutors, but no further action was taken.The ad also shows the words "Investigation Into Topinka" appearing below the Tribune masthead. But the actual headline for the 2003 story cited by Oberweis was "Campaign probe of Topinka launched; U.S. subpoenas workers' records."Topinka has said it has been three years since her office has heard from federal prosecutors about allegations of state workers' doing political work.A second ad criticizes Topinka for trying to settle a massive debt owed the state on the hotel loans a decade ago--a move blocked by then-Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan, who said he believed the settlement offer was too low.The ad displays a Sun-Times with the words, "$30 Million Sweetheart Deal" and the Journal-Register with the words, "Attorney General Blocks Bad Deal." In actuality, the Sun-Times cited by the campaign was an editorial with the headline, "Sweetheart hotel deal should be jilted." The headline for the Journal-Register story actually read, "Hotels' debt deal blocked; Attorney general cites U of I study."Ron Gidwitz, another GOP contender, has previously aired ads critical of Topinka, the three-term state treasurer.A fourth major candidate, state Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), said his campaign won the endorsement of the Illinois State Rifle Association on Tuesday. Brady has proposed eliminating state Firearms Owner Identification Cards.Meanwhile, the political action committee of U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is urging supporters to donate to Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth in her bid for the Democratic nomination against Christine Cegelis and Lindy Scott for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Henry Hyde.In an e-mail to be sent Wednesday to Keeping America's Promise contributors, Kerry said Duckworth "knows that it's time for veterans to speak up for a stronger America."