Days after the right of center Chicago Tribune endorsed Democrat Bill Foster in the race to replace Speaker Hastert in Illinois' 14th Congressional district, the left-leaning Sun-Times editorial board led by Cheryl Reed chimes in with an endorsement of Republican Jim Oberweis. The paper admits the strangeness of it all, but ably defends its decision with a stinging indictment of Foster:

We see the irony in this endorsement. The Sun-Times in recent months has made a point of returning to its political roots, speaking with a more progressive editorial voice than our competitor, the conservative Chicago Tribune. Yet now we find ourselves backing Oberweis, a rock-ribbed Republican, while the Tribune sides with Foster. Like all leaders, Oberweis has a point of view, which he argues forcefully and effectively.

But after meeting at length with both candidates, this endorsement was not such a difficult call. Oberweis was forceful and informed, while Foster was a disappointment. Though a respected physicist, he failed to do his homework, unable to discuss important issues in anything but superficial terms.

Our fear is that the equivocating Foster would be shoved aside and ignored in the highly charged world of Washington politics, leaving the 14th District with no real representation, from the left or right.

In the interest of fairness, I should point out that the Tribune was equally as harsh in its treatment of Oberweis:

This page is closer to Oberweis than Foster on several economic and foreign policy issues. But we watched Oberweis in his races for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2004, and for governor in 2006. We've watched this race for Congress. His campaign style has consistently been nasty, smug, condescending ... and dishonest.

In 2004, he ran an ad in which he hovered over Soldier Field in a helicopter and said 10,000 illegal aliens come to the U.S. each day, "enough to fill Soldier Field every single week." The number was grossly inflated and the ad smacked of fear-mongering.

In 2006, he ran TV ads that used headlines from the Tribune and other newspapers to attack an opponent. But the headlines were fake. They hadn't appeared in the newspapers. [snip]

The sum impression of Oberweis from four campaigns: He sees public office as an opportunity to pick a fight.

Voters in IL-14 go to the polls on Saturday to settle things between the two in the special election to replace Hastert - and then they'll immediately begin a general election battle, though one of them will certainly have the upper hand as a candidate elect/incumbent.