Leaders on both sides of the aisle are touting their platforms as they prep for the face-off in February’s upcoming primary.

With a nearly decade-old war, an egregious federal deficit, and a health care bill floundering in conference committee, public servicemen and U.S. Representatives on both sides are vying to make an impression with voters, promising job creation, tort reform and government transparency. With a passel of unresolved issues flooding Washington, D.C., both Republican and Democratic candidates face a febrile climb to the top of Capitol Hill.

An Endorsement from Downstate

U.S. Representative Aaron Schock has given his endorsement to Chicago suburb resident Mark Kirk, a Republican member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and the candidate favored to win in the February primary.

Schock says he has worked with Kirk for a year on the House floor and esteems his character and Republican leadership ability. “I have come to admire Mark Kirk’s integrity and his constant vigilance to doing things above and beyond reproach,” he says.

The fifth-term legislator was a leader in the GOP’s truculent fight against Democrat health care reform and believes taxes have whelmed recent House and Senate legislation. “On the heels of the Great Recession, the House and Senate health care bills would impose ten new federal taxes, including a new tax on health insurance,” Kirk says. “The bills would cut funding for Medicare doctors, hospitals and Advantage patients. Ignoring the future needs of Social Security and Medicare, the House and Senate bills create a new massive spending program supported by heavy taxes and cuts to senior health care. Congress should reject this government-run healthcare plan and back practical reforms to lower cost and expand coverage.”

In response to the 10 percent unemployment rate, Kirk believes the best way for the government to assist in job creation is to create an environment where business can grow. “Government is best when it gives people the tools to succeed, cares for the most vulnerable among us and holds lawbreakers accountable,” he says.

Kirk also believes decreasing taxes on small businesses would create jobs for constituents. “Small business is the engine of our economy,” he says. “We cannot spur growth by taxing small businesses into bankruptcy. We should find ways to support small business owners and help them grow. By some estimates, the trillion-dollar government health care bill being considered could cost Illinois more than 100,000 jobs—taxing the young and small business owners the most. I will continue to lead efforts to expand export opportunities for Illinois employers like Caterpillar—especially to the most rapidly growing consumer markets.”

Turning his gaze overseas, Kirk says he supports the McCrystal plan. “News that the president approved additional troops indicates Americans in uniform will get most of the tools and support they requested,” he says. “I agree with the president’s strategy to expand the Afghan police and army and remove corrupt Afghan government officials from office. Congress should back policies to prevent another attack on our homeland. Republicans and Democrats should unite to ensure Americans in uniforms succeed.”

The Conservative Voice

Incumbent Roland Burris’ Senate seat appointment left an acerbic taste in the mouths of Illinois residents once the scandal surrounding the senator’s ties to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was uncovered. The history of corruption associated with Illinois politics has spurred some Senate seat contenders to highlight their distaste for the legerdemain disappointed voters have tolerated. Kathleen Thomas, a Republican from Springfield with a PhD in Humanities and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, claims she has no associations with the former Illinois Governor or with special interests. “You can say that you have honesty and integrity, but people are waiting for you to show them,” she says.

Thomas takes a conservative stance on a public option for healthcare, the debate over which has exerted a fissiparous effect between Senate Democrats and Republicans despite alleged efforts for bipartisanship. The Republican says the health care bill in the Senate is “horrific” and fails to address the needs of the American people.

“We need a bill that addresses the rising costs of health care,” she says. “And we need tort reform to stop doctors from practicing defensive medicine and ordering costly, unnecessary procedures to protect themselves against frivolous lawsuits. Tort reform will cut down on the number of malpractice suits, which result in astronomical settlements and high costs for malpractice insurance and higher rates for patients.”

In terms of the health of the nation, Thomas says a strong economy is vital. “The engine of job creation is the free market system, not government,” she says. “I really believe government needs to untie the hands of the private sector and decrease the amount of taxes for small businesses. We need to create an environment that is small-business friendly.”

Overseas, Thomas believes that troop withdrawal by July 2011 is “too soon to do what we need to do” in Afghanistan. “I just read about a man who had his ears and nose cut off (by the Taliban) just for carrying a voting card,” she says. “We need to help the Afghan people establish home rule so that their nation will not be used as a breeding ground for future terrorists.”

Next on the GOP ticket is Judge Don Lowery. Originally from Mackinaw, Judge Lowery is a former Circuit Court Judge who served in the First Judicial Court of Illinois and retired in 2006 after 26 years of service. Prior to serving as a judge, he worked as a State’s Attorney and served in the U.S. Army before earning a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Southern Illinois University.

“My past record shows I’m a crusader for justice,” he says. “Right now, there’s a tremendous amount of corruption in the federal government. If lobbyists come along with a suitcase of money and say: ‘Vote this way,’ to get something passed, anyone who accepts that money should be in prison.”

Judge Lowery believes government has no business attempting to run health care. “Health care is an issue reserved to the states,” he says. “Health care costs cannot be controlled unless we have widespread competition in the marketplace.”

Judge Lowery believes Congress should be inadvertent toward healthcare costs for seniors. “The health care bill contains a $500 billion cut to Medicare,” he says. “Seniors have already been dealt a $26 per month Medicare cost increase. If this bill is passed, seniors will have to pay an additional $50-$75 dollars a month, which is a cost of between $1600 and $2,000 a year.”

In order to improve job creation in Illinois, Judge Lowery believes we must lower tax rates for small businesses and corporations so they can remain in America and create competition. “We need to protect American workers. This is especially crucial in the industrial, manufacturing and agricultural sectors that are so vital to our infrastructure. I would work to lower Americans’ tax burden now and for future generations.”

Setting a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan, Judge Lowery believes, is a gaffe on behalf of the Obama administration. “You should never tell your enemy what your intentions are in combat,” he says. “We should never have announced a time line.”

As a Vietnam veteran, the candidate claims Obama’s focus should be giving soldiers the materials and technology they need to effectively fight a war and “lifting unnecessary rules of engagement.” “Combat is chaos,” he says. “A soldier who has to make a decision about whether or not his actions fall in line with the rules is a soldier who hesitates and gets killed or wounded. People in Congress don’t know what it’s like to be in combat. We need better leadership in Washington. That’s all there is to it.”

Running on Change

Similar to Democratic candidates, many GOP contenders are also making a moniker of transparency. David Hoffman claims to run a clean campaign void of corruption and says he is the only candidate in the race who refuses to take money from PACs and lobbyists. He has touted his fervid desire for transparency at the federal level.

“What the government needs and what people are looking for is change at the federal level,” says Hoffman. “I was the Independent Inspector General of Chicago and exposed scams that cost taxpayers millions of dollars. I’ve been a Federal Prosecutor for several years as well as a member of the Illinois Reform Commission. I’ve pushed transparency initiatives at the city level and was named the ‘city’s corruption watchdog.’ I have no ties to Rod Blagojevich, and I’m the only candidate on the Democratic side who can say that.”

Hoffman’s aim to take on fraud and abuse in Washington will begin with a fight against the insurance companies and HMOs trying to block health care reform. Hoffman expresses disappointment in the current health care bill and supports the public option, which currently exists in the House bill but was exempt from Senate legislation.

“I was disappointed that they shirked the public option,” says Hoffman. “I would have voted for it.”

The Democrat also favors mandatory preventative care, claiming it will save money, prevent diseases and help people live longer, healthier lives. “I support comprehensive health insurance reform that ensures that insurance companies can no longer drop existing coverage or refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions,” says Hoffman. “I believe a public option will provide competition to lower costs and hold private insurance companies accountable.”

Financial health has also risen to the forefront with nearly 85,000 jobs lost in December. Hoffman says he believes the best way to put the roughly 17 million unemployed Americans back to work is through increased lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

“I’ve visited many small businesses that tell me they want to start hiring but they can’t because they can’t get credit,” says Hoffman. “The government must be a catalyst for job creation by injecting capital and using tools that provide incentives for increased lending. We need to subsidize the risk and make loans less risky for businesses.”

Issues overseas also command attention, in particular Obama’s new Afghan strategy for securing population centers outside Kabul, pushing back the Taliban and accelerating the training of Afghan forces. Like many Democrats in Congress, Hoffman has spoken against the escalation of troops.

“Our men and women in uniform have served in Afghanistan now for longer than our soldiers have served in any war in our nation’s history,” he says. “We need to focus on al-Qaeda, which is no longer an Afghan-centric group, and not spend billions of dollars putting more of our troops in harm’s way when we need the money here at home.”

Hoffman says the mission must focus more narrowly on the threat to America’s safety, “stemming the tide of radicalism” in Pakistan and securing Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal from international terrorists. “I am concerned about a potentially open-ended mission that places an overwhelming emphasis on an expensive military effort in Afghanistan that strays from a mission focused on al-Qaeda.”

Practical Experience

Jacob Meister, a Democrat who worked for Congressman Jim Moody of the 5th Congressional District of Wisconsin, claims his twenty years of practical experience working with businesses in foreign trade and commercial assets has prepared him for a U.S. Senate bid. “I have practiced commercial law in Chicago for the last twenty years handling cases that involve pensions, commerce, economic development, foreign trade and the use of technology to develop new and profitable businesses,” he says. “I know what the problems are and where the solutions come from. I know how government and business work. I know how to help our country emerge stronger as we heal our economy.”

Similar to other contenders, Meister believes the current health care bill does not go far enough to reform the health care system. “The current bill just throws money at the problem,” he says. “I would like to see a public option in the bill. The House bill with the public option is much better. A public option would enable us to broaden healthcare access to Americans in need. We must direct our resources more efficiently toward universal coverage that provides for preventive care and timely treatment.”

Meister believes Americans in need of employment will benefit by freeing up the credit market. “More credit needs to be able to flow to small and medium-sized businesses,” he says. “Government should be encouraging more capital investment.

Regarding foreign policy, the candidate says a timeline of troop withdraw by July 2011 is “reasonable.” “Obama’s plan is responsible, realistic and in the best interest of the country,” he says.

Incumbent State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is also throwing his hat in the ring on the Democratic ticket. Having garnered experience as the youngest State Treasurer in the nation when he was elected in 2006 at the age of 30, Giannoulias raised the level of state ethics after signing the most wide-ranging comprehensive ethics package in state government.

If elected, Giannoulias’s first term in the U.S. Senate will encompass solutions for healthcare reform as well as unemployment. Alexi believes that Congress must enact a plan that controls skyrocketing premium costs and ensures access to quality, affordable health care to all. Alexi believes any bill passed by Congress should eliminate the ability of an insurance company to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition, end hand-outs to insurance companies, drive down the costs of prescription drugs and give Americans the ability to compare plans so that they can choose the most affordable option. He also supports the creation of a public health insurance option.

Alexi’s Future Works America agenda addresses four key goals for putting Americans back to work. His web site outlines the plan, which includes stimulating the economy by cutting taxes for working Americans and small businesses; reining in unfair, deceptive and dangerous practices of corporations; restoring fiscal sanity to the U.S. budget; and helping people move to more secure jobs by investing in education.

“We need to turn the economy around by investing in infrastructure, in science and technology, and in green jobs for cleaner energy,” he says. “Cleaning the environment creates many benefits, including global economic competitiveness and better national security. It will save money and create jobs as we invest in new technology, such as solar panels and wind turbines.”