Jim Oberweis in The Chicago Tribune

On Corporations: Corporations go overseas when taxes & governments bully them

Oberweis has accused Durbin of "bullying" the corporations that consider moving their headquarters overseas for tax purposes. He chides Durbin for not preventing the exodus with a rewrite of the tax code.

Oberweis is an investment manager and dairy owner known for the ice cream parlors that carry his name. He touts his private-sector success and derides Durbin as a "career politician." Oberweis said, "I freely admit that I'm not as good a politician as I am a job creator. Dick Durbin has never created a private-sector job in his entire life." Oberweis believes lower taxes and fewer federal regulations would help improve workers' fortunes.

Libertarian Sharon Hansen is aligned more closely with Oberweis on inversions, saying: "We need to lower their taxes so they don't want to go someplace else."

On Jobs: Minimum wage of $10 (and less for those under age 24)

State Sen. Jim Oberweis prefers a minimum-wage hike only for workers who are in their mid-20s or older. His campaign calls closing the pay gap a "handy campaign prop" with no chance of becoming law. Oberweis believes lower taxes and fewer federal regulations would help improve workers' fortunes.

In April, Oberweis proposed a state measure to gradually boost the minimum wage for workers 26 and older until their hourly wages hit $10 in 2017. On the federal level, Oberweis might favor raising the minimum wage for workers who are at least 24 years old. Oberweis' campaign points to a CBO report which found that most low-wage workers would receive higher pay under the federal proposal but that once the increases were fully implemented in 2016, total employment would be reduced by about 500,000 workers because some low-wage jobs would be eliminated.

On Immigration: Visas for illegal immigrants, but no path to citizenship

Oberweis said he would propose a different approach: visas for immigrants here illegally, but no special path to citizenship. Those immigrants would pay taxes and have the freedom to cross in and out of the U.S. but would not be allowed to vote or participate in entitlement programs, Oberweis said.

Truax said Congress should focus first on securing the border. He said he would resist a comprehensive reform bill because Obama can't be trusted to implement complex legislation. "We've got to get down to specific pieces, and then if the president sticks to that, then we can move on to the second piece," Truax said