10th District Race Turns Negative

Charges of misleading voters and the infusion of outside special interest money have intensified the 10th Congressional District primary battle for the Democratic nomination to challenge .

With the primary 11 days away, advertising funded by MoveOn and True Majority PAC questioning hit local mailboxes Wednesday and Thursday. Schneider is one of four Democrats seeking his party’s nod.

, another of the four contenders. The other two, Long Grove business owner and Mundelein attorney , have stayed out of the fray.

The two mailers, which sport the same graphic of a duck standing on a Republican elephant logo, highlight campaign donations Schneider has made to Republicans over the years. Though the MoveOn piece called Schneider a Republican, Adam Ruben, the group’s political director, backed off the statement.

“Brad Schneider claims to be a progressive but no true progressive would give thousands of dollars to conservative right wing Republicans,” Ruben said.

Schneider has said on several occasions 90 percent of his donations have been to Democrats over the years and all have been to support the U.S.-Israel relationship. , Schneider’s claims his efforts changed minds of members of Congress and had direct effect on the country’s policy toward Israel.

The infusion of outside money into the race drew a reaction from . She has endorsed Schneider. She sees little difference between the efforts of MoveOn and Republicans like the David and Charles Koch.

“Groups like MoveOn and the Koch brothers endorse people who meet their profile,” Garrett said. “The voters in this district are very smart and well educated. They will see through this to make their decisions,” she added describing the effect she sees of outside money.

Sheyman, who has said if nominated he will reach out to Dold to keep all outside funding out of the race, distinguishes groups like MoveOn from the Koch brothers.

“While these activities are entirely independent and uncoordinated with our campaign, we respect the right of the 17,500 local members of MoveOn.org,” Sheyman campaign manager Annie Weinberg said. “It is inappropriate to draw a false equivalency between unlimited corporate spending and the ability of working people across the District to make their voices heard.”

On Wednesday, Sheyman accused Schneider of using campaign literature to mislead voters into believing he was endorsed by President Barack Obama. In the piece, Schneider touts endorsements by the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald and former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Barrington) and includes a picture of the President.

"I'm disappointed that Brad Schneider's campaign seems intent on misleading voters in this way,” Sheyman said.

Schneider campaign manager Jarrod Backous denied the campaign handout was meant to indicate support of the President. “We are not suggesting that we received an endorsement from the President and we don’t think any voters would take it that way,” Backous said.

Tree was endorsed this week by the Journal and Topics newspapers.