Jim Oberweis, a Republican candidate for the Senate, visited NIU on Wednesday to discuss his views about the conflict in Iraq, higher education, the economy and immigration.

Oberweis was born and raised in Kane County. He graduated from the University of Illinois and earned his graduate degree in political science from the University of Chicago.

Oberweis’ took a strong stance on the Iraq war. He said people have to remember that we’re at war with terrorists and that more lives were lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks than in Pearl Harbor.

“This is a war we must fight, must win and will win,” Oberweis said.

Oberweis also said he has been a strong proponent of higher education.

“My five children will get undergraduate degrees and their masters’, and one already has a Ph.D.,” Oberweis said.

Oberweis, also the owner of Oberweis Dairy Stores, set up a $750 college scholarship fund for his employees.

“The only thing is, if you get the money for school, you have to go,” Oberweis said.

Oberweis also said he agrees with President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. The act guarantees that children will able to meet the high learning standards of their state of residence.

“It is a step in the right direction, but it will take 10 years as a good test to see if it will work,” Oberweis said.

Oberweis said he sees the economy improving because the country has been out of a recession for more than a year now.

“It has taken companies a while to respond, but productivity has shown an increase of 9.2 percent,” Oberweis said. “The GDP has also increased 8.2 percent in the third quarter.”

Oberweis said he believes in a stricter immigration policy in the U.S.

“We need to tighten border control and enforce the laws,” Oberweis said. “There are 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., and they should be deported. We don’t do a good job with this, so we need to enforce the laws.”

Oberweis also met with faculty members and professors from NIU’s political science department for a private discussion about different international issues.

Daniel Kempton, chair of the political science department, said they discussed international issues involving Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

“He asked us questions and commented on the issues, and what he had to say was interesting and fruitful,” Kempton said.